WTN: Bruce Banneret

[David M. Bueker]

• 2009 Domaine du Banneret Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (3/23/2025)
  From my late father's cellar, this was a producer that I had never tried. I'm really not sure my father had either, as there were multiple bottles of several vintages neatly packed together, and my mom wasn't, and still isn't a fan of Chateauneuf.
  
  Anyway, the wine was lovely from first pour. Understated, even comforting, it felt much more like late 1990s/early 2000s wine than something from the bigger is better era. Aromas ran to the dusty and herbal with ample fruit, but nothing remotely over the top. Structure was also relatively gentle, such that the entire impression was a bit of a favorite blanket draped across the lap. Plenty of flavor depth, and a welcoming food companion, I am glad to have finally experienced the wine, and look forward to more.

A new producer to me. Was your dad a shopper at sites that do DI (like Garagiste)? Sounds like a single buy. Glad you liked, and hopefully will like other vintages.

[David M. Bueker]

No, my dad was largely a brick & mortar shopper for European wines. I suspect he got the Banneret at either Schneiders in DC or a place called Tastings in Charlottesville.

[David M. Bueker]

Just looked, and the importer in in Charlottesville, VA, so he almost certainly bought it at Tastings.