Category Archives: Syrah

2008 Chateau Mont-Redon Cotes du Rhone

2008 was a notoriously inconsistent year in the Rhone Valley. You’ll often fine this vintage at a much lower price than the famous 2007 or 2010 vintages. While the wines are inconsistent this gives the potential to find a great wine for a bargain price. The best bet is to stick with the more well known producers in these off vintages. Chateay Mont-Redon is one of our favorites in Rhone and I’m always willing to give them a try. While we were in Switzerland we had a 2008 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf that was out of this world.

colonelgrape: 80. This wasn’t the super rare amazing 2008 we were looking for but it wasn’t bad. Considering the $12 price I was happy with the quality but I’ve had better Cotes du Rhone at this price point from the 2007, 2009, and 2010 vintages. We absolutely love the 2007 Chateau Mont-Redon Chateauneuf du-Pape and next time I see their CdR from another vintage I’ll be sure to pounce on it. If you see a 2008 and you’re looking for a table wine for an every day dinner this wine works just fine. If you’re trying to impress someone, try the 07 or the 10.

MobyGrape: 80. I once again epically failed a blind wine taste test. But since whether I get it right or wrong never changes the outcome, (meaning I still get to drink it all), I’m not terribly broken up about it. It smelled a little like foot, and had a rustic, earthy quality to it. I hope it wasn’t expensive, I’d consider it a perfectly fine wine to crack out for a non-special occasion. It was such a non-special occasion I can’t even remember what we ate with it.

2006 Les Vignes D’Alexandre Chateauneuf du Pape

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Our first…and our last…foray into inexpensive Chateauneuf du Pape. I found this bottle at Wegman’s for $27 and while that may not seem inexpensive, it is for CdP which runs $40+ for a decenet bottle. CdP producers typically focus on Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre but in the more inexpensive bottles you’ll see the focus shift to the lesser grapes of the region leading to inferior wines. In the long run if you see a bottle that’s priced significantly below the normal price range for that type there’s probably a reason. You might find a diamond in the rough but more often than not you’re going to be disappointed. When searching for value wines I recommend doing some research online or talking with trusted employees at the store.

colonelgrape: 64. I have to give this wine a below average rating. It’s not appalling, but it’s simply my least favorite Chateauneuf I’ve tasted to date. Not much to add to my initial statement other than if you’re going to drink CdP pay close attention to vintages, years, producers, and price. These are pricey wines right now and I’d recommend spending the extra $15-$20 to get a quality bottle.

MobyGrape: 75. I was underwhelmed by this one. I’ve been so spoiled by the Colonel giving me great Chateauneuf’s I was surprised. There wasn’t anything really wrong with it, just didn’t get me going like some of the others we’ve tasted. I still ran around the house yelling “Chateauneuf du Pape!” over and over though, so at least there was that…

1998 Nobles Rives Hermitage

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Hermitage is the Rolls-Royce of the Rhone region. It’s made from 100% Syrah and quality examples take decades to mature. Often times other wines in the region are thought of as wines to drink while wines from Hermitage and Cote Rotie mature. Hermitage is actually a very small region as well so coupled with the age needed these wines are very expensive. White wine is also made in the region but most of the production is red.

This bottle here is not a well known producer so it was relatively inexpensive at $40. Most well known producers are in the hundreds even when they are new and still need 20 years before you can drink them. We enjoyed this wine with rigatoni and meatballs.

colonelgrape: 83. Since this is an older wine we decanted it for a solid 40 minutes before tasting it and the first thing that jumped out at me was the color. This wine was a very distinct brownish/brick red that you only see in older wines. On the nose it smelled leathery and earthy. On the palate I immediately tasted smoked meat, leather, earth, spices, and a background of red fruit. That first sip I literally thought someone dipped a salami in my wine, in a good way. I’d describe it as “gamey” tasting. It went really well with the hearty meatballs. I think we missed the prime of this wine by a few years but this is still a bottle I’d recommend if you’re looking to try a Hermitage red but don’t want to spend $200 for a bottle of Jean Louis Chave. Just make sure you do it soon as this wine is definitely on the back 9 and won’t last much longer in the cellar.

MobyGrape: 85. I didn’t know what to expect from this wine, because even though the colonel has explained to me roughly 4001 times what hermitage wines are, I have yet to pay attention. It smelled and tasted kind of meaty at first, and there was a lot of sediment, which leads me to the conclusion that someone dropped hamburger in the barrel. Whatever they did I’m cool with it, because it worked out pretty well. The meat smell went away shortly and then it smelled a little bit raisiny and tasted like them If you did the weird little slurpy thing to aerate it on your tongue (which I do in a very classless way, so I’ve been told). Regardless, I enjoyed the wine before dinner and also with pasta and meatballs, a nice meaty wine for a nice meaty meal.

2007 Chateau Mont-Redon Chateauneuf du Pape

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Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name…and they’re always glad you came.

Chateauneuf du Pape brings us back to 80’s television. It’s safe to say that Chateauneuf is our favorite wine region here at Grapestorm. It’s pricey but when you buy from a reputable producer in a good vintage you are in for a treat. It has body, structure, character, and it’s incredibly fun to say. Moby and I will literally walk around the house just saying “CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE” in our best hoity toity french voices for hours on end…we are that cool. It’s kind of a funky name so let me help you pronounce it properly: SHA-TOH-NUF DO PAHP.

Now that you know how to say it let’s talk about producers. Chateau Mont-Redon is not the best producer in CdP but their wines are of high quality at great value. A bottle of 2007 Chateau de Beaucastel, Vieux Telegraph, Vieux DonJon, or Rayas may cost you $100+ but this Mont-Redon was only $45 and worth every drop. Don’t get me wrong, the producers I just mentioned produce world class wines that are exceptional but they are tough to get your hands on at a reasonable price. One thing to be very careful of when buying a CdP is the cheap bottle from an unknown producer. These wines can be absolutely terrible and you’ve wasted $25. Why are they so bad? Because CdP is a blend of grapes (typically Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre…Cinsault, Counoise, Muscardin, Terret Noir, and Vaccarese are also allowed) and inferior producers use more of the inferior grapes to save money. I can’t recommend CdP enough but you need to do your research before going to the store. I have yet to have a good CdP that cost under $40. Our two favorite “value” producers are Chateau Mont-Redon and Bosquet des Papes.

Vintage is also very important when buying CdP. Wines can vary vintage to vintage in CdP more so than in other regions. Recent good vintages: 98, 00, 01, 05, 07, 10. Avoid any 02 or 08 you may find. 2007 was an especially interesting year in Chateauneuf du Pape…it was an extremely hot summer so the grapes were riper than normal producing a bigger, more alcoholic, more fruit forward wine. Many people taut it as one of the best vintages of all time while some people don’t like it because it was so different. The way I see it if you like California Cabernet you’ll like 2007 Chateauneuf. You’ll have to be the judge for yourself!

colonelgrape: 97. Wow. This wine is out of this world and for only $45. A beautiful ruby color with smells of ripe plums and earth. On the palate it was medium bodied with tastes of ripe black fruits and berries with acidity to balance everything out. The tannins weren’t out of control but it was definitely more ripe and boozy than a usual CdP but it worked well. The finish was long and delicious. We had this wine with roast beef and mashed potatoes and it was a great pairing. This will stand up to roasted meat and vegetables all night long. One of the best wines I’ve had in recent memory at this price point.

MobyGrape: 96. The first thing that came to mind when drinking this wine is that it was sort of hollow. Like there was an excellent smooth flavor up front, gave your mouth an awesome party, and then sort of poofed and left a superb, lingering flavor. And maybe it was all the wine or the poofing but all I could think of was David Copperfield. This wine is like David Copperfield. You get a magical show that will dazzle your tastebuds and then poof! The sip of wine is already gone but the flavor is still deliciously hanging around and somehow he pulled a duck out of a hat. Bravo! I’m told 2007 was a bit of a goofy year for Chateaneuf’s, and some people aren’t a fan. I think I should change my rating because you know what, maybe no one else should drink this, I don’t want anyone risking it. I’ll just take one for the team and drink all of them myself. Go ahead, send all of your 2007’s to me.

2003 Saint Cosme Saint-Joseph

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Saint-Joseph is an appellation in the Northern Rhone Valley that grows Syrah. It’s kind of an odd appellation in that it’s very long and narrow on the West bank of the Rhone river. It is the second largest appellation in Northern Rhone second only to Crozes-Hermitage. Saint-Joseph is frequently compared to Crozes-Hermitage in wine style and it’s easy to see why…they grow the same grapes and are in a similar region, albeit on opposite sides of the river.

The odd geography of the appellation leads to inconsistency of the wines…but not necessarily in a bad way. Classic Saint-Joseph comes from the southern part of the region while the wines from the north may taste very different as the terrior of the appellation changes. The wines of Saint-Joseph were described to me like a “mild version of Crozes-Hermitage” and are often thought of as wines to drink while waiting for Cote-Rotie and Hermitage wines to mature.

With their mild nature they drink well young but excellent examples are worthy of cellaring such as the 2003 we had the other night. This is a $50 bottle from Vin Bin’s fine and rare December collection. We enjoyed it with veal osso buco, rice, and vegetables:

If you’ve never tried osso buco and you’re a meat lover you are missing out. It’s tender, flavorful, and very interesting. Also if you have a dog they will swim across the ocean and back for one of the shank bones…seriously they absolutely love them.

colonelgrape: 93. I really enjoyed this wine. We decanted it for about 45 minutes to let it open up and It was a nice ruby color, full bodied with flavors of red fruit and leather. Definitely not as bold as Cote-Rotie wines but you could tell it was Syrah. If you have a bottle of this drink it now, I don’t see it getting any better with more aging.

MobyGrape: 90. This one decanted for a while, so I was ready to dive in and see what was going on, I figured all the riff raff would be out by the time I stuck my schnozz in it. I went to give it a good whiff and immediately was transported to the dump in the town I grew up in. If you’ve never been to a dump before, you’re missing out, and if you have, you know it has a very distinct odor. It just smells…different. Then I tasted it and thought those salivary glands in the lower corners of my mouth were going to explode. I’m told that’s acid. At this point you’re probably thinking my rating was a typo. In that weird journey that wines take in the glass however, the dumpy smell mostly went away and so did the cheek-shattering acidity and it mellowed out and became a drier, tart wine that tasted quite nice. Like the knight guarding the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones, he was all old and fierce looking at first, then he drops his sword when he’s trying to swing it and you realize he’s just a kind old man doing his job and he recognizes Indy’s a pretty good guy after all. Am I saying I’m like Indiana Jones? I’m not saying that I’m not. Who doesn’t enjoy a good archealogical adventure? Isn’t that what wine tasting is all about anyways? With every sip you’re tasting a wet little piece of the past. This wine was from 2003. It will never happen again. None of the wines you drink will ever happen again. Except for that Beaujolais Nouveau crap, that’s just unnatural and will probably continue to be crap until the end of time. Regardless, I got to be a part of what these people were doing at that time, in that place, during those exact conditions in which these grapes grew. Whoa.