WTN: 2004 Texier Côtes du Rhône Brézème Northern Rhone France.

2004 Texier Côtes du Rhône Brézème Northern Rhone France. 13% alcohol; 100% Syrah. $15.99 from Chambers Street, NYC. Imported by Louis/Dressner, NYC. http://www.louisdressner.com/ Bottle 3; Asimov/Lyle case.

Bright garnet color, deep hue, ripe cherry, pepper and spice aromas and tastes, mild tannins and light acidity, in beautiful balance, long interesting finish with fruit, pepper, spice and herbal notes. Just lovely -- so pure. Great match with grilled trout, green beans and roasted sliced almonds. 4*

Notes:

Question: I had thought that Côtes du Rhône district was entirely in the Southern Rhone, but apparently that's not correct.

Texier website: "This untamed, brawny wine is usually a deep garnet color, with a big bouquet of ripe, but spicy fruit sitting atop an earthy base. A fleshy mouth, long finish and wonderful combination of acid to tannins makes these powerful young wines that have the potential to age for at least 10 years." http://www.adonkeyandgoat.com/texier/home.htm

Texier: Brézème 2005 -- "Global warming is a positive factor in Brézème! For the third year in a row, we enjoyed a perfect growing season, which ended in late September with really ripe Syrah at 12% natural potential alcohol. Denser than the 2004 vintage, the wine is closer to a Moulin-à-Vent than to a still Porto… 9880 bottles. " Joe Dressner summarizing Texier notes.

Bob

Question: I had thought that Côtes du Rhône district was entirely in the Southern Rhone, but apparently that's not correct.

Yes, that is not correct. Check out the Cotes du Rhone wines from Clape and Jamet for delightful 100% Northern rhone syrah at a bargain price.

Thanks, Rahsaan. Texier has a nice map correcting my misunderstanding as well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Regards, Bob

Thanks, Rahsaan. Texier has a nice map correcting my misunderstanding as well.

Yes, CdR takes in areas that lie just outside of AOC boundaries, when those marginal areas haven't been incorporated into the AOC itself (as in Crozes and Cornas). And keep in mind the VdP des Collines Rhodaniennes, of which Ogier's La Rosine is by far the best known.

Mark Lipton

Thanks, Mark. I decided to try the two cases from Chambers -- the Asimov/Lyle Bottles -- to learn something, and the first three bottles have not only been very good wines, but taught me a great deal as well.

I'm excited about continuing the journey.

Thanks for the information.

Regards, Bob

And keep in mind the VdP des Collines Rhodaniennes, of which Ogier's La Rosine is by far the best known.

Jamet's is not bad either. For a cheap 8euro drinker. Which is what the La Rosine should/used to cost..

Oh, this is not the price thread. Sorry..

And keep in mind the VdP des Collines Rhodaniennes, of which Ogier's La Rosine is by far the best known.

Jamet's is not bad either. For a cheap 8euro drinker. Which is what the La Rosine should/used to cost..

Yeah, the price of La Rosine has more than crept in recent years And there are several other quality VdP de CR, but they're much less widely available IME. You may recall Claude Kolm a few years ago mentioning the VdP cd CR of Mazel, Verzier and Stephan, but I have yet to find any of these in my part of flyover country.

Mark Lipton