Travers the country

Brusset 2004 Cairanne Coteaux des Travers (Rhône) – Fruity and forward, to the extent that I’d be hard-pressed to identify it as a French wine, much less of its place. There’s little structure, but I wouldn’t go so far as the call the ripe strawberry bubblegum fruit formless…it’s just that there’s mostly the simple fact of the initial burst of yum, and then, well, not much else. This feels like a laster rather than an ager, and maybe not even the former. But why wait? Certainly one drinks this because it’s big and fruity, and because one considers those the sine qua non of wine construction. (12/08)

Not so bon Felsch-ing

Le Gœuil 2004 Cairanne “Cuvée Léa Felsch” (Rhône) – Corked. (10/08)

Not the current Igence

Domaine Boisson 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Cairanne Blanc “l’Exigence” (Rhône) – Roasted apricots from a can. Skeletal and strange. There’s no meat or skin on these bones. (2/08)

And Cairanne, Cairanne so far away

Domaine Boisson 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Cairanne Rosé (Rhône) – Fresh raspberry blossoms in sunshine. Clean and precise. Nice. (2/08)

Drinks

Domaine Boisson 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Cairanne (Rhône) – Big red plum and some juiciness. Crisp for a southern Rhône. Short, though. (2/08)

Domaine Boisson 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Cairanne “l’Exigence” (Rhône) – Some alcohol, but otherwise the noseis tight. The palate, on the other hand, is fairly explosive, with huge, dark fruit, brown earth, tar, and milk chocolate. Dense as hell. The finish is equally massive, though the burn reemerges. Good, but also one to be wary of. (2/08)

Romet-o & Juliet

Alain Boisson “Domaine Cros de Romet” 2006 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Cairanne (Rhône) – A big, chewy herb fest: thyme, rosemary, etc. Very tannic. This will live for a long time on its structure, though whether it will ever show anything interesting is an open question. My guess: it won’t. (2/08)