Walden Rhône

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Fading, with its structure now taking control of the dark, earthen, somewhat tarred fruit. Drink up. (11/11)

Cylons

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud” 2009 Vin de Table “Plan Pégau” (Rhône) – Even more structured and manly than usual, which makes me wonder if the non-Rhône-traditional grape component of this wine has been upped. Dusty, a bit tarry, and hazy with blackened fruit. The ideal match might be mastodon. (7/11)

Séguential

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Séguret (Rhône) –I gave up on this wine about a year ago, as it had provided tasty post-release quaffing but seemed to be headed towards a rather abrupt expiration. I may have been too hasty, because this is back. I don’t know if much has changed, exactly, but the descending veils have been re-lifted, and the dark, earthy fruit is once more on full display. Perhaps the tannin has faded just a bit? Aside from that, it’s the same wine it was in its highly approachable youth. I’d recommend drinking, but it’s clear I don’t have as firm a handle on this wine as I once thought, so for all I know it’ll be an ager. I’m drinking mine anyway, because that way it won’t continue to prove me wrong. (11/10)

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Séguret (Rhône) – See the previous note, to which this would be pretty much identical. (11/10)

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Séguret (Rhône) – This third bottle, and (I think) my last, is a little more faded and on a trajectory similar to all the previous bottles. So were the last two the anomalies, or is this? Well, it’s now moot unless my friends are stashing some. (11/10)

BSG

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud” 2005 “Plan Pégau” Vin de Table (Rhône) – After a number of very poor showings, my most recent two bottles have evidenced a bit of a comeback. Perhaps I judged prematurely. In any case, there continues to be no obvious reason to hold onto these wines longer than the time it takes to drink them, for as the structure fades, the dark and sloshy fruit remains firmly in place, yet with someone’s hand pulling back on the fader. A fair quaff. (12/09)

The Costières of doing business

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Better than these bottles sometimes are, with earthy/smoky black fruit and a fair collection of dried herbs, but these jeans are fading and a little stretched. I’d be looking for the most recent vintage, if you’re of a mind to drink this. (12/09)

Ségway

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – As I’ve worked my way though my rapidly-decaying stash of the 2005 version of this wine, this bottle has only served to confirm my conviction that this is a label for immediate consumption. I don’t personally think that Séguret should decline as quickly as this one does, but the evidence is clear: drink it when you buy it, and not later. Smooth, succulent Southern Rhônishness, full of garrigue and musky fruit scented with earth and that grenache-y touch of gum. Nice. Did I mention to hurry up and drink it? (9/09)

Féraud swine

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionnée par Laurence Féraud” 2005 “Plan Pégau” (Rhône) – A hyped wine that has never really done a whole lot for me aside from my first taste. It’s flavorsome and full, but it’s also boring and more than a little disjointed, with soil and herb here, tobacco and tar there, and no real middle in which to meet. (10/09)

Oil of Soleil

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Turning a little sludgy and strewed, but showing better than other bottles have, of late. Dark, soy-based earth-fruit and leather, the blackened memory of blueberry dust, some dried-herb aromatics. Heavy. (7/09)

Not a man, not a Plan

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud” 2005 “Plan Pégau” Vin de Table (Rhône) – Muted at opening, then delivering a slow, slow, so slow process of cabernet-ization; by the end of the bottle, it would be the sheerest luck to identify the wine’s Rhônish origins. That’s not a bad thing – it’s a vin de table for a reason, after all – but what isn’t quite so good is the way the wine never rises above tediousness, albeit a tedium delivered via sledgehammer. Every single bottle of this wine has been worse than the last one. (3/09)

Plan B

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud” 2005 “Plan Pégau” (Rhône) – Decrepit when first opened. It never really gets much better. Could be a bad bottle, but there’s just something about its malaise that makes me doubt it. Spirty-porty in a stale blueberry sort of way, with gravelly tannin and pointless density. Finishes with indifference. I’m no Pégau-hater, but this is a very poor performance for this wine. (1/09)

Failure to Plan

Costières & Soleil “Sélectionné par Laurence Féraud” 2005 “Plan Pégau” Vin de Table (Rhône) – Corked. (1/09)

Moon Frye

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Is this closing, or drying out? It’s certainly not as tasty as it was this summer. The dark fruit, chewy and brush-infused, has receded a bit, leaving bare a intrusive bubblegum and candy that don’t work to the wine’s benefit, plus a bit of soy on the finish. There’s still a certain muscularity, and the balance hasn’t suffered, but I have no idea if this wine was designed to age like a proper top-line Séguret or was always intended for youthful swilling. It’s worth keeping an eye (or nose) on, either way. (12/08)

For the St-Tropez tan

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Less aromatically vivid than previous bottles. Closing? It can’t be falling apart already. It’s smooth and supple, showing darkness on the edge of berries, a thin strap of leather, perhaps even a touch of tar. Quite drinkable, but not as appealing as usual. (6/08)

Costières & Soleil “Sélection Laurence Féraud” 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret (Rhône) – Fearless and sun-drenched, as a Séguret should be, showing brawny, slightly roasted dark berries and vine smoke with a rich black leather interior. There’s a polished fullness to it that, for me, connects it to Féraud’s other wines, but while it’s certainly on the lush side, it is by no means overdone or overly modern. Nicely done, and a pretty decent value as well. (11/07)