Cote de Rhone label info

Larry wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

It is one of those French things, they expect you to know the general description of the wine from the AOC designation.

Larry wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Cotes du Rhone (with circumflexes over both 'o's). Guigal is a really good, solid producer and his Cotes-du-Rhone is one of the best. I think it is one of the best widely available wines at the price.

Not big enough for you? Some of the Cotes du Rhone can be very thin and quite acidic, but the medium-weight ones (I find) can be excellent autumn food wines.

Because they are the rules of the AOC. What that means (amongst other things) is that the wine is produced according to a set of rules that say which grapes it may be made from, where the grapes come from, how many grapes are produced in the vineyard (per ha, etc.)

So you can be 'sure' that a Cotes-du-Rhone that you buy will be 'typical' of the Cotes-du-Rhone style (together with an expression of the winemaker). Unfortunately, you don't know what that style is without trying, but that's no bad thing. And after all, that's why we buy wine from merchants rather than supermarkets.

Sorry, Steve, but I can't agree. Guigal makes excellent Cote-Roties (if you like the style) but his negociant offerings leave me largely unimpressed. His CdR especially I find bland and commerical in style, especially in light of the ongoing revolution in quality currently underway in the "lesser" communes of the Southern Rhone Valley (e.g., Cairanne). So, while it's nothing bad, it's nothing that gets me very excited, either, even in great years such as '98.

I agree completely with you, however, about the size of CdRs. To Larry I can only say that sometimes French wines are an acquired taste, but your own palate is the final determination of "quality." If you don't like it, there are still plenty of wines left out there to try...

Mark Lipton

If you want more information on it try the Guigal website,

Also gives the composition as 50% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre and 25% syrah.

Personally, I happened to have it for the first time at a dinner the other day and would have to say that I agree with Mark that it struck me as okay but not hugely exciting.

Ian

Larry, I agree with what's been said before by Mark & Steve. But I also want to add that , in my view, many if not most wine back label "notes" belong in the fantasy section at Barnes & Noble. I like information re cepage, barrel regime, etc.- that can help make a decision. But the label notes seldom reflect reality to me. I particularly like the ones that say "this soft full-bodied Merlot with ripe blackberry flavors and toasty vanilla overtones will pair well with a variety of pastas, fish, chicken, and red meat." :)

BTW, put me in the camp with Mark-I find Guigal's CdR to be a bit boring. There are other CdRs I find far superior. I find the Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune & Blonde to generally be a good value- not the best Côte-Rôtie made, but a good honest product at the low end of the Côte-Rôtie price scale. That's actually the only Guigal I still purchase.

Thanks Ian G. for looking up that info. That cepage is pretty typical for CdR, I'd guess. Although some of my favorites are mostly or all Syrah.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply