Don't squeeze the Charvin

Charvin 2006 Vin de Pays Principauté d’Orange “à côté” (Rhône) – If the Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a concerto, and the Côtes-du-Rhône is the orchestra without the soloist, this is the first scribbling of the composer on an otherwise blank page. Suggestions of Rhône-osity come in the form of dark, earthy undertones, a bit of leather and smoke, a hint of herb…but none of these ideas are developed or fleshed out. In other words, the wine lives up to its position in the hierarchy. It’s quite drinkable and seems admirably unspoofy, but this is a wine for enjoyable quaffing en pichet in an Avignon bistro, not for shipping across the ocean to acquire a series of markups and a marketing budget. Still, if you have to drink something, you could do a lot worse. A lot worse. (1/09)