2006 Domaine de Fondreche Côtes du Ventoux Persia

(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Ventoux)

This is a weird wine. It smells and tastes like green peppers and celery.

On the nose, I get white pepper, cucumbers, and green bell pepper. On the attack, the celery and bell pepper flavors are almost overwhelming. The midpalate settles down into some cherry and blackberry. Then the heat comes up on the backside. It’s really not very tasty. It’s got all these weird flavors with no real fruit to carry the funk. Maybe it’s in a bad place right now, but this wine is definitely not for me. I’m actually confused. Flummoxed. Cattywompus. I think I have to say that you should buy one bottle and split it with 8 wine geek friends.

84 points, buy and try? $16.

2000 Domaine Bois de Boursan Châteauneuf-du-Pape

(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

Man, this hits me just right! This has the complexity of a wine that’s twice the price.

Great aromas of leather, blue stone, mushrooms, garrigue, and black pepper. The fruit is almost a backdrop for these great earthy aromas and flavors. There is good fruit, but make no mistake, this is NOT fruit-forward! This is old barnyard funk in a bottle, but it’s balanced, savory and delicious. If I made wine, this is what I’d want it to taste like.

93 points. Buy and drink soon. $35 on WineBid.

(USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley)

Delicious, but a little basic. It’s got good fruit, but little soul. It tastes like it could be from anywhere.

On the nose, it was explosive with red and black fruit. Blackberries, raspberries, and cassis with maybe a tiny hint of mushroom, but not much. On the attack, it’s mouthfilling with good fruit, and this great, bright acidity like a light bulb. This wine really makes your mouth water. On the mid-palate, it’s a little weak, and all that fruit just sort of dissipates. It’s just a tad short on the finish, but it leaves you with this odd desire to take another sip – must be the acid. This is really tasty stuff, it’s just not overly complex. It was a surprisingly good match for lighter summer fare, though. This Russian River Valley Syrah, a more basic cuvee, made me very interested in trying Carlisle’s ridiculously highly-rated Papa’s Block. Thanks as always to Tony Brown and Jeff Stettner of @33wine.

89 Points, Buy and try, $37?

2007 Perrin & Fils Côtes du Rhône Villages

(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages)

So far on this 2007 Southern Rhone tour out of my cellar, this has been the clear winner. I decanted this and tasted it at various stages over 2 days.

Tight on the nose with the pop-n-pour, so I can see how a number of previous raters went low on this wine. It seemed downright boring at first. Over the next few hours it begins to release a dense blanket of strawberries, blackberries, and leather. The mouthfeel is very dense, like velvet. There is a creaminess that coats the palate and prepares you for a thick layer of jam and pepper, with just a hint of garrigue lingering in the background. It feels very round, with a very smooth transition to a bacon fat and strawberry finish.

90 Points, Buy and Keep, $15.

2007 Saint-Cosme Côtes du Rhône

(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)

A little disappointing and basic. Certainly not terrible, but no match for other CDRs.

On the nose, it’s a little tight. Good sour cherry aromas, but smells a little hot. On the attack, this wine bursts onto the palate with sour cherry and cranberry. The fruit on this vintage is pretty incredible. These bright berries persist through the course of the experience, and are punctuated by decent tannins. Toward the tail end there is some green bell pepper that is very pretty. It’s got good acidity, but very few secondary flavors. Overall disappointing, but I may have been expecting too much.

89 Points. Buy and try, $16.

1996 Tardieu-Laurent Crozes-Hermitage Vieilles Vignes

(France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage)

Good syrah. Inky purple wine, almost black. Nose of blood, leather, white pepper, and cranberry. Leather, iron, black pepper, cranberry and citrus (yes, citrus) dominate the attack. The midpalate is a little hollow with only the iron and citrus carrying it through to a very posteriorly-located cranberry finish that comes on in a wave about 5 seconds after swallowing. I was a little disappointed in this showing, but I wouldn’t kick it out of bed.

88 Points.

2005 Le Salette Amarone della Valpolicella Classico La Marega

(Italy, Veneto, Valpolicella, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico)

This was the 3rd wine of the night, but it held up its end of the bargain as a standout. On the nose, it was heavy in honeyed tobacco, dates, and figs (Honeyed tobacco? Yes, it smelled like Red Man soaked in honey. We used to do it on our High School baseball team.). The mouthfeel was middling. The attack was full of more figs and honey, but now the fruit had its chance to stand out. This wine comes strong with a plum, fig, and date flavor and aroma. The flavors keep crashing over the palate, one at a time, for a very long time. Some residual sugar lends deliciousness, but there is neither the raisined nor the sherried flavors that can turn me off about lesser Amarones. This is a well-executed wine that makes me wonder why I don’t drink more Amarone. Again recommended by Jeff Stettner of 33 Wine Bar in Saint Louis (@33wine).

93 Points. Buy and keep.

(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)

This is really a serious Rhone vintage. Recommended by Jeff Stettner of 33 Wine Bar in St. Louis (@33wine on Twitter). The nose was a little tight to start, but with some vigorous swirling, it opened nicely showing really dense blackberry and cassis jam. This nose smells like it’s coming from a jar of preserves. On the attack, this wine coats your palate with a creaminess and density that’s pretty impressive. After the layer of cream, the black raspberry builds to a nice crescendo. Not a ton of second-tier flavors are coming through right now on this wine. I was looking for the usual black pepper, leather, garrigue combination, but the fruit is singing so loudly that the usual chorus of the Rhone was drowned out a bit. Really delicious stuff. Now I think I’m beginning to understand the hype about 2007 in the Rhone Valley.

92 pts.

2001 Gangloff Côte-Rôtie La Barbarine

(France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie)

Great bottle with both the lamb that my wife had, and my pork belly. I think this may have been the single greatest food and wine pairing I’ve ever experienced. The nose on this wine was incredible – graphite, blue stone, and iron. After I took a bite of food, I would reach for my glass, bring it to my lips, and pause for just a few moments to let the bouquet mix with the lingering flavor of the dish before taking a mouthful. I have never been so entranced by a nose.  The wine as a standalone was great, with tons of red fruit, flint, leather, and iron on the palate. The mouthfeel was lush and the finish was remarkably long. Really a fantastic bottle of wine, chosen by Emily Wines (@ewino on Twitter), Master Sommelier, Wine Spectator Grand Award Winner, and bottle-sabering sensei. Gangloff is a producer I will definitely be looking for in the future.

94 points.

2005 Louis Jadot Corton Grèves

(France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton Grand Cru)

I took this to a blind $100-bottle tasting, and I was in love. Herbal and earthy on the nose, with sage and mint. The mouthfeel was surprisingly supple. Red fruit and herbs carry the day, especially on the mid-palate, and the wine leaves you with the realization of what perfect structure can do. Beautifully round, with no rough spots. A gorgeously complex pinot that will really speak to Burgundy-lovers. Now I just need to get out there and find a replacement bottle… Right in my wheelhouse.

95 points. Buy and keep, $80.