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)

White hat

Texier 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc (Rhône) – Nut oils and rocks. Fullish, as these things are, but its hold on sanity seems tenuous. I wonder if holding it this long represented an equally tenuous hold on sanity? Well, I’ve got more, so we’ll see. (5/11)

Andrew Jackson

Texier 1999 Hermitage (Rhône) – Cellared since release. Packed up in a hand-constructed individual stryo sleeve. Stuffed into a bag and checked, paying the airline’s asinine baggage fee to do so despite not otherwise needing to check a bag. Collected at baggage claim after much foot-tapping delay. Unwrapped and rested, upright, in the hotel room to let the sediment settle. Transported, with care to avoid further sedimentary disturbance, to a restaurant. And – wine people can see the inevitable conclusion coming a mile away – corked. (11/10)

Caddish

Texier 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages St-Gervais “Vieilles Vignes des Cadinières” (Rhône) – Above all the detail is an incredible complexity, not often found even in the more interesting of the Villages-designates. The detail? Fine-particulate minerality, full of graphite and ground porcini, with the herbal-bubblicious berry of the region, swirling berries giving more of their skins than their flesh, and an atmospheric uniformity of molecules. A fascinating wine, with an undoubtedly fascinating future. (12/10)

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)

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)

Vaison dilation

Texier 2007 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Vaison-la-Romaine (Rhône) – Rally solid Rhônish flavors – nothing you haven’t encountered before – with a stronger dried-earth component than is the norm. Texier’s wines have long been good, but there’s a polish to them now…not sophistication so much as swagger…that works to their benefit. Very good. (5/10)

Soften or Laudun

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Laudun (Rhône) – Pretty much ready, perhaps even a touch past ideal, as the well-soiled meat and rough underbrush are showing signs of male-pattern baldness in the midpalate. The fruit, structure, etc. aren’t fully “matured,” but I don’t think there’s going to be sufficient body in the future to support continued effort along these lines. I’m glad I aged it, though, as it’s more interesting than it was in its more monolithic youth. (3/10)

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Laudun (Rhône) – Concentrating down towards the classic Rhône destination of meat juice, but there’s still blackberry and even a little bit of strawberry lingering about. Straightforward and simple, but good. I’d drink this soonish if I had any more…and hey, what a surprise, I do. And will. (3/10)

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Laudun (Rhône) – Chewy, meaty, substantial. Light around the edges, but dark to the point of opacity within (that’s an organoleptic, not visual, assessment). Probably mature. (3/10)

Séguret squirrel

Texier 2000 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Séguret “Vieilles Vignes” (Rhône) – Dead, with some oxidation. Synthetic cork strikes. (3/09)

Ricky

Texier 2001 Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages St-Gervais (Rhône) – Dead, with minor oxidation. Synthetic cork strikes again. (3/09)

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)

Baton rouge

Texier 2004 Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge (Rhône) – More acidic than one normally expects from a basic Côtes-du-Rhône, though Texier is hardly acid-averse, and while it defies expectations it works to the wine’s benefit when food is in the equation. Otherwise, the aroma runs through the usual range of underbrush, earth, smoked pork and bubblegum, and overall it’s fairly restrained. Not elegant, exactly, but soft. It finishes with fine sustain, and I wonder if it might not benefit from a few years’ age. (10/07)

A striking Brézèmblance

Texier 2005 Côtes-du-Rhône Brézème Roussanne (Rhône) – This suggests rather than delivers extreme weight, and in fact turns out rather well-balanced. Nut oils and stone fruit residues are in evidence, along with some spice and a fetid peachiness. A nice wine, crisper than many of its ilk, but with the flavors one expects. (7/07)