Chusclan of the cave bear

Texier 2000 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Chusclan (Rhône) – I open this with trepidation, due to the synthetic cork in its neck. But this is one of the random bottles that’s survived its closure, showing rolling waves of luscious Rhônish un-fruit (underbrush, meat, herbs, dried-and-smoked red cherries in residual form), both “pretty” – if you like this sort of thing – and long. It’s a lower-volume wine, to be sure, which is only to its credit. (10/08)