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South of France Wine Areas
thanks.
"jcoulter" > wrote in message
. 204.17...
> "dick" > wrote in news:8A4_b.15786$hm4.8214
> @newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net:
>
> > Thanks. Sorry for this question...is Gigondas wines similar to C De
> > Pape...just on of same village?
> >
> > What is difference in D De Pape and Gigandas?
>
> As Mark said similar though Gigondas is primarily Grenache and Syrah
> (IIRC) with a dose of Mourvedre with the neighboring Vacqueyras, as
> indicated in recent thread, a bit less Grenache.
>
> Mark posted the following on 1-29:
>
> Here are my notes from a recent tasting put on by JC Mathes of J et R
> Selections (http://www.jetrselections.com), a smallish importer who
> specializes in wines from small domaines in the Rhône Valley, with a few
> domaines from elsewhere in France. All told, they import 140 different
> domaines, and IMO generally bring in wines of character and value. Last
> night's wines:
> ,other material snipped>
>
> 1999 La Tourade Vacqueyras
> nose: gamey , cherries, smoke
> palate: acidic on entry, giving way to cherry fruit and medium body,
> giving way to gaminess in the finish.
> Now this is more like it (at ~$15)! Made from 80/10/10
> Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre (as are all their Gigondas cuveés), it has that
> funkiness that I associate with Vacqueyras (guaranteed to turn Jean off
> in a heartbeat). Quite a nice value.
>
> 2000 La Tourade Vacqueyras
> nose: gamey, cherries
> palate: softer on entry than the '99, rich fruit in the midpalate before
> an acidic finish.
> Softer and simpler than the '99, but still a decent wine. Between the
> two, however, I preferred the '99.
>
> 1999 La Tourade Gigondas
> nose: slightly floral, with minerals, cherry and smoke
> palate: acidic entry, cherry, gaminess, with mild tannins and acid in
> the finish
> This cuvée was made from younger vines, but still has substance and
> character. Quite typical of Gigondas (IMO) and a decent bargain at $18.
>
> 2000 La Tourade Gigondas
> nose: cherry and minerals
> palate: acidic, slightly thinner and less appealing than the '99, but
> similar in character
>
> 1998 La Tourade Gigondas Cuvée Font des Aieux
> nose: deep cherry fruit
> palate: pencil lead, tannins in the midpalate, modestly fruity
> Similar in many ways to a decent CdP, this wine didn't have quite enough
> fruit to go with the still substantial tannins.
>
> 2000 La Tourade Gigondas Cuvée Font des Aieux
> nose: some heat, and oak(??) with deep cherry fruit
> palate: rich mouthfeel, lots of cherryish fruit and a tannic finish
> This was the biggest of the Gigondas stable, but also more expensive
> (~$24). This one might develop into something very interesting in a few
> years, though.
>
> 2000 La Tourade Gigondas Cuvée Morgan
> nose: licorice and volatile esters
> palate: licorice, cedar, red fruit and an oaky finish
> This, according to JC, is the domaine's bow to American taste: Gigondas
> aged in new barriques. JC only imports it because his customers love it
> (he doesn't). I'm with JC: this is closer to Zin or Aussie Shiraz than
> Gigondas.
>
> Of all the Gigondas tasted from this producer, the '99 regular cuvée and
> the 2000 Font des Aieux stood out. It would have been fun to try the
> '99 Font des Aieux as I generally preferred the wines from that year,
> but it wasn't available.
>
> 1999 Grand Tinel Chateauneuf du Pape
> nose: leather, tobacco and some fruit underneath
> palate: rich mouthfeel, cherry fruit, before a clean finish
> A very nice CdP selling for a Gigondas price (~$25). After the earlier
> wines, this came across as big and rich. Yum!
>
> 1999 Bois de Boursan Chateauneuf du Pape
> nose: gamey, leather and seaweed
> palate: slightly alcholic on entry, giving way to deep cherry fruit and
> an acidic finish
> Yes, this is the same wine I tasted last week! (5 wines from J et R at
> the last tasting) If you go back and read my notes from that tasting,
> you'll see why I'm not a professional wine reviewer. ;-) Good stuff,
> though (~$30).
>
> 2001 Domaine du Pégaü Chateauneuf du Pape
> nose: slightly corked (dammit! it was the last bottle, too), flowers
> and fruit beneath
> palate: big wine, lots of cherry and berryish fruit, tannic and tarry
> before a 60 second finish.
> WOW! I can only imagine what this wine would have been like if it
> hadn't been corked, but still impressive. I missed out on the 2000
> Pégaü, but as I had it at last year's J et R tasting, I wasn't too torn
> up. People who had both were largely more favorable about the 2000,
> but it could simply be that it was a year softer (actually, the 2000 is
> probably bigger IIRC). The only thing not to like is the price ($48),
> but that's the price of success...
>
> Overall, a great tasting put on by a great guy (JC). The wines were
> generally of quite high quality, with lots of personality and very
> reasonably priced wines. As they are now distributed in over a dozen
> states in the US (see the website for names) these are wines worth
> looking for.
>
> Mark Lipton
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