Don't mess

Texier 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Having consumed a fair quantity of this over the last little while, I guess the age of the wine never fully occurred to me. But now, the difference in supple development between this and other CdR made in recognizably similar ways makes sense. I don’t know if I’d call the wine’s rich palette (yes, that’s the spelling I intend) fully mature, but it’s certainly mature enough to be interesting. (7/11)

Gramenon, holdenon

Gramenon 2009 Côtes-du-Rhône “l’Élémentaire de Gramenon” (Rhône) – Firm tannin leftover from creating the leather sofa on which this wine lounges. Blackberry fruit-leather as well, plus an herbal stew. This tastes as much like a chinato as it does a Côtes-du-Rhône, and that’s an interesting conflation of styles. Challenging. (11/10)

Olivet Oyl

Clos du Mont-Olivet 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône Montueil-la-Levade (Rhône) – Is there a hefty mourvèdre component here? (I suppose I could just check the web, but it’s more fun guessing.) The delicious, sweaty meativore component is just too evocative, no matter the source. This tastes far more mature than its vintage would indicate, but it’s still so structured and masculine that I think more age wouldn’t hurt. On the other hand, why wait. It’s absolutely compelling now. (11/10)

Us and Brézème

Texier 2008 Côtes-du-Rhône Brézème (Rhône) – The terroir that carried so much of the early (American) hype for Texier probably did more than any of his wines to permanently offend certain segments of the curious. No one familiar with the wine need ask why, but for the rest: it’s the acid, of course. That fierce, brittle, insistent acid. This is the Cantillon of Côtes-du-Rhône, and the uncompromising nature of it means that, at times, even fans will struggle to wrap their palates around it. There’s so much to recommend here…soil and sharp fruit, delineation and character…but either beat it back with acidic food or stick it in a dark corner of the cellar. Of course, only one of these things actually tames the acidity. The other just dresses it with different, and ultimately more interesting, outerwear. (9/10)

Texiboo

Texier 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Corked. (9/10)

It's not easy being green

Terres d’Avignon “Kermit Lynch” 2008 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – As easy as always, but there’s some angst and teenaged crankiness to it, and I don’t think it’s just a stage. Rough-ridden fruit, lightly-chewed and vaguely herbal, with the sweetmeat pong of Rhôneishness. But it’s just…a little odd. (7/10)

The united colors

Ferraton 2008 Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc “Samorëns” (Rhône) – Surprisingly vivacious, to the extent that white Rhônes not labeled clairette can ever be. Melon, almond, tan earth, and scallop coral, with good density but life and light within. A fun, easy-drinking wine. (7/10)

Ritter

Texier 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Often, I taste these synthetically-sealed wines and wish for a different closure, that I might see what a little age would bring. Here, I don’t. This tastes authentically Southern Rhônish (whether it is or not), lighter than has been Texier’s past norm, and very appealing in the now…but I don’t think any closure would have lent it much of a future. This isn’t a criticism; the wine’s so good, why wait? (7/10)

Terres it up

Terres d’Avignon “Kermit Lynch” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Drinking very well right now, with powdered pepper and herb softness settling into a plusher blend of dried fruit and light soil than was apparent even a few months ago. When this wine is on, it’s one of the best values in the Côtes-du-Rhône, not least because it fulfills expectations so perfectly. And 2006 was definitely an “on” vintage. 2007…perhaps not so much. (4/10)

Catin the hat

Clos du Mont-Olivet 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône “Serre de Catin” (Rhône) – Approachable despite fairly hefty tannin, with all the Côtes-du-Rhône signatures in place and otherwise in balance. Finishes long and solid. It’s good as a cocktail wine, and lightens just enough with (strongly-flavored) food to support dining. I guess this is the sort of thing the vintage-hypers are referring to when they extol the top-to-bottom quality of 2007 Rhônes, but as ever the actual performances will be more complicated than that. This could age for a while, I suspect, but it’s probably a better reflection of its intentions if consumed in its exuberant youth. (1/10)

Poutet tang

Charvin 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône “Le Poutet” (Rhône) – Reliably solid, basic Côtes-du-Rhône aromas of underbrush, slightly desiccated red fruit, and that faded combination of earth and animal that transcends brett to become a regional signature. But this isn’t really a rote Rhône, either…instead, it’s a sensitive, very pure expression of what is always a forceful aromatic package done with delicacy and restraint. It’s still a southerly wine, with all the richness that implies by its context, but in that context it’s just a little bit lighter than air. This is the sort of wine of which one could drink rather a quantity. (12/09)

Three bridges

Terres d’Avignon “Cuvée Sélectionnée par Kermit Lynch” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Good, classic CdR aromas of underbrush and slightly mammalian fruit. White pepper dust. Not too much of anything. In good form, but gentle and not the best of recent vintages; those in search of something a little more obviously pleasurable will want the Vin de Pays de Vaucluse. (12/09)

Terres d’Avignon “Cuvée Sélectionnée par Kermit Lynch” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Better than the previous bottle, in that its earthen charms are more generous, and there’s a little more fruit (and “fruit”) as well. (12/09)

Terres d’Avignon “Cuvée Sélectionnée par Kermit Lynch” 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Definitely a step up in fruit intensity over the 2006. This is at the sacrifice of a bit of the earthy/meaty elements, but to the wine’s overall appeal; a lot of effort towards a brownout Provençal complexity isn’t really what’s wanted here, I think. Simpler pleasures are in order. And it’s not like it’s Lodi zin. Herbs, some animal, some dirt…still there. With more baked cherry. (12/09)

Paradis is a protected form of art

Clos du Paradis “Domaine Viret” 1999 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Saint-Maurice “Les Colonnades” (Rhône) – Sweetish black meatfruit liqueur, in the manner of so many aged Rhônes, but thinned out and giving way to some acidity and brittleness after a decade of age. A disappointing performance, frankly. (7/09)

Clos du Paradis “Domaine Viret” 1999 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Saint-Maurice “Emergence” (Rhône) – Corked. (7/09)

Garnacho cheese

Domaine de Cabasse 1998 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret “Cuvée Garnacho” (Rhône) – Dead. (7/09)

Visan quest

La Florane 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Visan (Rhône) – Corked. (7/09)

Saurel soup

Saurel “Saint Damien” 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Bouveau” (Rhône) – Perhaps a bit modern-styled, but if so it’s done in a very appealing fashion; dark, forceful (but not aggressive) fruit that seems a little more zinnish than usual for a CdR bursts and flows over the palate like rapids, with a dusting of black pepper and serrated rosemary. Pure fun. (6/09)

A Peyrouses is a Peyrouses

Voge 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône “Les Peyrouses” (Rhône) – Cornas without all that soft, easygoing gentility. Well, OK, actually not. It’s feral and twisted, bent and almost broken, but manages to cling to black’n’blue’purple, heavily-bruised fruit around the perimeter, just hanging on as the bottom falls out of the center. Structurally angry. Sadomasochistic wine; there’s pleasure to be had, and you’ll remember it later, but there may be some consequences. (4/09)

Be still my heart

JL Chave 1999 Côtes-du-Rhône “Mon Coeur” (Rhône) – Just a smidge past fully mature, I’d say, with a lovely old wood, old smoke, old fruit, and old leather jacket aroma laden with a significantly autumnal reddish-brownness. The fruit has, as it so often does in older wines, rounded into a petite core of sweetness, but it retains a good deal of appeal. The wine eventually loses its battle against oxygen…an hour or so and the cracks are readily apparent…but it shows surprising quality while it lingers. I’d never have guessed it would last this long, as it seemed rather blocky and dull-witted in its youth. (12/08)

Cork Lynching

Terres d’Avignon “Kermit Lynch” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône (Rhône) – Corked. (10/08)

I want to be a Ramière, Ramière, Ramière

Jeune “Domaine Monpertuis” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône Vignoble de la Ramière (Rhône) – I’d almost forgotten that Côtes-du-Rhône used to taste like this: earth-spicy old cherry, herb-laden earth, none of it striking or memorable, and certainly not over-worked or heavy, but an easy-going, eminently pleasant companion to just about any food one can throw at it. (Don’t throw your food, though; your mother would be unhappy.) There’s a hint of horse, but only the most rigidly averse will care. (10/08)