(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.