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France’s Côtes du Rhône area is huge, complicated, and different, house to rustic reds and strange whites and every little thing in between. 23 grape varieties are allowed for use within the Côtes du Rhône AOC, with grenache, syrah, and mourvedre the usual bearers that created the “GSM” moniker that describes quite a few wines made within the Rhone model.
Not too long ago we sampled three totally different wines from the area, which collectively showcase the range of the Rhone Valley.
Ideas observe.
2021 Aime Arnoux Cotes du Rhone Choice Parcellaire – Initially a bit heavy, encumbered by a daring currant and peppery plum character, this wine perks up with just some minutes in glass to disclose surprisingly supple notes of brighter fruit, plus chocolate and tea. Very calmly tannic with a contact of anise on the again finish, the fruit settles right into a groove that melds its harder black fruit assault with a full of life raspberry and strawberry high quality because it develops over an hour or so in bottle and glass. Decant should you’d like. Lingering cocoa powder and baking spice notes give the wine a versatility not usually seen on this value band. A / $21
2021 Les Vins de Vienne Côtes-du-Rhône Les Cranilles – Very fruit-forward with heavy notes of figs and dates, the wine is extracted into jam-adjacent territory. A doughiness on the physique provides the wine a very unctuous high quality, coming throughout as barely gummy at instances. A hibiscus observe offers some fragrance to the wine because the end arrives, although the overwhelming quantity of fruit makes the expertise stay nearly one-note. B / $18
2022 Domaine Saint Damien Côtes du Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu – A pleasant center floor between the 2 above wines, this expression of the extra elevated Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC sees a brighter, crimson fruit high quality dominating, with some contemporary acidity serving to notes of rosemary and thyme to perk up. Once more there’s a hibiscus floral observe on the end, however right here it’s extra current and punctuated, giving the conclusion a barely heady kick. A grind of darkish chocolate on the end brings all of it again right down to earth. A- / $20
2021 Aime Arnoux Cotes du Rhone Choice Parcellaire
$21
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