Our Bordeaux tasting/dinner at e2 (www.e2pgh.com) was certainly tasty and instructive – so we are moving forward to our next region where we will dive into some interesting wines of the Rhone region. We will taste and discuss the wines as a group, and then finish with a dinner to see how they stand up (or change/improve) with food. I am a huge fan of Rhone wines as I feel they offer great value for money and, even at the lower price points, a great deal of character and sense of place.
An added dimension for this tasting is the inclusion of two currently unavailable vintages of Chateauneuf du Pape wines (2001 Marquis Anselme Mathieu and 2007 Chateau de Beaucastel), acquired through a friend who shares our interest in wine and was quite generous to help us include these fantastic wines in our tasting.
Seats are available for this Wed Oct 30 event at: http://www.off-the-grid.ws/2013/10/30/rhone/
France’s Rhone Region produces what many consider to be the most characterful, rustic and big wines in France. Join us to taste two Rhone whites and three Rhone reds, including the historic and hard to find 2007 Vintage of Chateau de Beaucastel!!! If you are interested in the flavors of the Rhone – you won’t want to miss this tasting/dinner.
We expect a fantastic dinner from our friends at e2 (probably something with Lamb this time) that will match wonderfully with the rustic Rhone wines.
Domaine de la Solitude, Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2012 – Southern Rhone White, exotic fruit flavors and clean finish.
J.L. Chave Sélection Saint-Joseph Blanc Céleste 2011 (90pts IWC) – Northern Rhone White from Roussanne and Marsanne grapes, rich and deep with long finish.
J.L. Chave Sélection Saint-Joseph Offerus 2010 (91pts IWC) – Syrah-based Northern Rhone Red, red fruit flavors, spicy and sleek.
Chateauneuf du Pape Marquis Anselme Mathieu 2001 – Fully mature example of Chateauneuf du Pape red, 90% Grenache grapes, blended with 10% traditional Southern Rhone grapes (13 varieties permitted). This wine is light to medium bodied, with layered fruit flavors – not powerful at this point in its maturity, but pleasingly complex.
Chateauneuf du Pape Chateau de Beaucastel 2007 (96pts Robert Parker, 96pts Wine Spectator) – This is a serious and highly sought after wine, from one of the most successful vintages of the past two decades – Rich and complex with more Syrah content than most Chateauneuf du Pape reds this one shows flavors ranging from cedar to licorice to red fruits and floral notes – – tasting this will be interesting as it will be interesting to see how many of us agree with the critics!
