The Joy of Six!
Three sumptuous premium red wines to spoil yourself with. All 3 are proper French classics
2x Cote Rotie Saint Cosme 2009 – Northern Rhone
This wine has everything you need in a quality red and everything we like in a Cote Rotie: freshness, balance, with complex aromas of soot, bacon, violet, graphite, cold ash and ancient roses.
St Cosme is without doubt one of the very best producers in France, let alone the Rhone Valley.
Cote Rotie is at the top of the pyramid of wines that come from the northern Rhone valley. It is a high-quality wine made from Syrah grapes, sometimes a tiny bit of the white grape variety Viognier is added to give some floral notes to the wine. This wine is full of white pepper and red fruit flavours.
The winery dates back to 1490 and owns some of the oldest vines in the Southern Rhone. Winemaker Louis Barruol’s family have owned the estate for generations but it is only under his guidance that it has started to fulfill its potential.
Louis is an evangelist for the terroir of Gigondas and produces several single-vineyard wines to demonstrate its variety and quality. All the wines, from the humble Cote-du-Rhône to the incredible Gigondas Valbelle, are treated with the same care and attention, technical precision and artistry.
2 x Chateau Durfort Vivens Margaux 2007 – Bordeaux
Beautiful dark red colour with purple tints. The nose is very expressive, with intense aromas of cassis and blackberries, which are also noticeable in the mid-palate. Ample and round, the body is well structured with polished tannins and delicate layers of oak. Smoke and slight spicy notes rise after further airing of the wine.
Located in the communes of Margaux, Cantenac and Soussans, the Durfort-Vivens vines are planted on hilltops made up of deep, poor gravel. The gravel was deposited by successive riverbeds of the Garonne in the Quaternary period. This magnificent terroir enables an early optimal ripening of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, allowing a full expression of the finesse and silkiness of the tannins, resulting in the freshness and elegance characteristic of a great Margaux.
This is ready to drink right now but be prepared to decant.
2 x Hermitage Rouge – Domaine Belle 2008 – Northern Rhone
Beautiful aromas on the nose of fresh blackberries, vanilla and cedar. On the palate it is textural with layers of fairly dense, soft tannin and wooded notes and concentrated fruit. There are traces of licorice, chocolate and pepper to add to the complexity.
Domaine Albert Belle is one of a handful of producers achieving the exciting potential of this area and justifying its reputation as one of the classic regions of France. Having rapidly forged an enviable reputation for interesting and crafted examples of Crozes-Hermitage, the Belle Family is one of the stars of the region.
