Wine of the Week for January 3, 2014

Today we tasted through a bunch of offerings from Domaine Grand Veneur from the Southern Rhone Valley of France.  I have had the pleasure to work with and enjoy these wines for many years now, and it is always interesting to come back to them and get refreshed on the current vintages.  We are planning a dinner in early February with Helene Jaume, daughter of Alain Jaume the winemaker and voice of the winery for many years.  It is always very exciting to be working with someone from the winery, and having the owner's daughter is sure to make for a great evening.

The wines were quite good and were a mixture of vintages, with both 2010 and 2011 represented.  My pick for the tasting was the 2010 Lirac Clos Sixte, which exhibited a bright but dense cherry licorice and dark red fruit quality on the nose.  The wine has fuller tannins than a couple of the other wines I tasted, plus a spicy, smoky edge through the finish.  On the palate and all the way through the finish the wine has a wonderful feel on the palate, lifted and smooth from a streak of acidity.  I think we are going to pair this wine with some sort of seafood course, it is so lovely to taste.

The other wines we tasted today include (and all are very good and worth the search out for buying and drinking pleasures):

  • Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone Reserve 2010
  • Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone Champauvins 2011
  • Grand Veneur Vacqueyras 2011
  • Grand Veneur Chateauneuf du Pape 2010
  • Grand Veneur Chateauneuf du Pape Les Origines 2010

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