Up and down the Rhône

Hey there, Feastlings.


Châteauneuf-du-Pape, while the Popes have long since moved out of it, is the yardstick of the Rhône valley.  We tend to taste wines from the region and compare their various qualities of fruit and garrigue with the notable southern end of the river valley. The fact is, however delicious the wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape may be, each little chunk of riverbank up and down that 500-plus-mile stretch has its own distinct character.Come join us with Noel Patterson this Sunday the 31st at 3:30 pm if you’d like to taste your way through half a dozen wines that, even while they aren’t Châteauneuf-du-Papes, are pretty delicious Rhône wines..  The tasting is $35 and each wine will be specifically paired with its own tasty bite of food.  Make your reservation by calling 326-9363. Regrettably, web and email reservations will not hold you a place.


Up and Down the Rhone


2011 Cristia Collection Grenache Blanc, Vin de Pay de Mediterranée                                                     $12.00

Made with fruit from 25- to 40-year-old vines, Cristia’s concrete-aged Grenache Blanc offers up a nose full of stonefruit blossoms backed up with peach and sandy minerality on the palate.


2012 Domaine de Cristia Grenache, Vin de Pay de Mediterranée                                                             $13.00

Dark red color with garnet undertones.  Powerful nose showing good ripeness and exhibiting wild Mediterranean herbs and red fruits; excellent attack on the palate with darker, more intense fruit accentuated by ripe and silky tannins.  A lot of wine at a truly affordable price.


2010 Domaine de Monpertuis “Vignoble de la Ramière” Cépage Counoise, Vin de Pays du Gard   $18.00


This wine is fermented and aged in cement vats and is composed almost exclusively of the Counoise grape variety, one of the thirteen varieties permitted to be used in making Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  Supplemented by just a touch of Alicante, this wine is usually bottled 18 to 20 months after harvest and offers a full-throated roar of the garrigue that so defines the wines of this region: the wild herbs and slightly animal notes that make this modest wine so full of character.


2011 Catherine Le Goeuil Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne                                                                   $29.00


Organically farmed Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Counoise. “Ripe and decadent nose, wild thyme, stones, and loads of Grenache fruit; chewy, concentrated, great tannins, palate-staining sensations, and just a whole lot of rock ’n’ roll going on.”- Kermit Lynch


2011 Château de Beaucastel “Coudoulet de Beaucastel” Côtes du Rhône                                           $32.00


“The 2011 Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel is another excellent wine from the Perrin Family. Complex and perfumed, with notions of earthy black fruits, licorice and roasted meats, it possesses sweet tannin, medium to full-bodied richness and a great finish. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.”
Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, Note : 91/100, 2013-11-01


2011 Maison Nicolas Perrin Saint-Joseph                                                                                                      $40.00


100% Syrah from a vineyard spread out 40km along the right bank of the Rhône river. Intense and rich on notes of wild fruit. The mouth is complex with soft tannins. This wine is powerful and has a distinctive elegance to it, but is meant to be drunk relatively young.ô

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