2005 Domaine Du Coriancon Cotes du Rhone
$10.95 btl/$109.00 cs
This is exactly what I think of when I remember all those bargain Cotes du Rhones from France I used to enjoy back in the day. Wine that didn't cost a lot, and delivered a ton of flavor for the money. Mouthfuls of spicy blackberry, pepper-infused grenache (70%) fruit melding perfectly with bursts of ripe raspberry and earth notes from the syrah and mourvedre (10% ea.), with smaller percentages of cinsault (5%), clairette (2.5%) and bourboulenc (bet ya never heard of that one!). This is from true old-vine, biodynamically farmed vineyards in the hills surrounding the tiny village of Vinsobres. You can absolutely taste the warmth that washed over these vines in the near-perfect 2005 vintage. This wine proves again that in classic vintages like '05, shop the lower priced appellations to get unheard-of character and flavor, not to mention awesome value. I had this great bottle open a couple of Saturdays ago and people were floored by how good it is. It is one of my favorite wines in the store right now, and for this money it is stellar. I highly encourage you to grab some of this remarkably food-friendly red for yourselves!