Syrah - Pure and Powerful - Saturday, Oct. 6, 12-4 pm

Biodynamic, Carignan, Corbieres, Costieres de Nimes, Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, Crozes-Hermitage, Events, France, Grenache, Languedoc, Red Wine, Rhône, Sale, Sustainable, Syrah, Tasting No Responses »
Oct 062010

Whether known as Syrah throughout most of the world, or as Shiraz in Australia and in South Africa, this dark-skinned grape has become one of the most popular varietals for wine.

A grape born and bred in the northern Rhone region of France (the offspring of two nearly extinct local grapes: Dureza from the Ardèche, and Mondeuse Blanche) Syrah is both bottled as a varietal wine, such as in the famous Cote Rotie and Hermitage, and blended in with other varietals as in such famous wines as Chateauneuf du Pape, and many other wines throughout France’s Mediterranean region.

Please join us this Saturday, October 9th, from 12PM to 4PM for a tasting of Syrah in which we will explore it’s pure form, with six wines from the northern Rhone, southern Rhone and the Languedoc. The Lineup:

Jean-Michel GerinJean Michel Gerin Syrah Collines Rhodaniennes 2007, List Price $19.99, Sale Price $16.99 – Rhone, France – 100% Syrah – 13% abv – Sustainable - This displays incense, crushed cherry, violet and mineral notes to glide through the iron-tinged finish. Drink now. 1,415 cases made. – Rated 88 Points, Wine Spectator


La Bastide Syrah GenetsDomaine La Bastide Syrah Les Genets Vieilles Vignes Vin de Pays d’Hauterive 2008, List Price $12.99, Sale Price $10.99 – Corbieres, Languedoc, France – 100% Syrah – 14% abv – Sustainable - From vines averaging 30 years old planted in soil composed of clay and fine gravel. The color is a dark, saturated red, with violet highlights. The nose is of intense red fruits, spices and smoke. Supple, and silky textured with very ripe tannins and a long finish.

Yann Chave Crozes Hermitage Le RouvreYann Chave Crozes-Hermitage Le Rouvre 2008, List Price $35.99, Sale Price $29.99 – Rhone, France – 100% Syrah – 13% abv – Sustainable - The cuvée “Le Rouvre” is from a parcel of terroir in “Les Chassis” situated at the Pont de l’Isère. Here you’ll find our oldest vines (of more than 40 years) with a soil containing lots of big rounded rocks called “galets roulés”. There is no press juice used for Le Rouvre (the press juice is saved for Chave’s Crozes Hermitage Classique), only the vin de goutte, which is then aged in one-wine or two-wine-Hermitage 600 liter demi-muids. The finished wine displays pungent notes of cassis, and shows superlative balance between fruit and tannin.

La Ferrande 2006Domaine de Ferrand La Ferrande Côtes du Rhône 2006, List Price $19.99, Sale Price $16.99 – Rhone, France – 100% Syrah – 14% abv – Sustainable - As remarkable as 2007 is, there are 2006s that should not be forgotten. Domaine Ferrand (an excellent producer of Chateauneuf du Pape) has turned out a 100% Syrah cuvee, the 2006 Cotes du Rhone La Ferrande. Its opaque ruby/purple hue is followed by aromas of pepper, blackberries, licorice, incense, and earth. Dense and rich with surprising complexity and character for a southern Syrah, it should drink nicely for 2-3 years. – Rated 90 Points, The Wine Advocate

Mourgues du Gres CapitellesChateau Mourgues du Gres Les Capitelles 2008, List Price $22.99, Sale Price $19.49 -  Costieres de Nimes, Languedoc, France – 85% Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Grenache – 14.5% abv – Sustainable - The outstanding, dark ruby/purple-tinged 2008 Capitelles du Mourgues is a blend of 85% Syrah and the rest Carignan and Grenache. It offers up abundant aromas of blackberries, licorice, camphor, and forest floor as well as a lush, dense, chewy style. The richest of these reds, it is capable of lasting for 3-4 years. – Rated 90 Points, The Wine Advocate

Aphillanthes Le CrosDomaine Les Aphillanthes Le Cros Côtes du Rhône Villages 2007, List Price $25.99, Sale Price $21.99 – Rhone, France – 100% Syrah – 14.5% abv – Biodynamic - The 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Les Cros reveals complex notes of creme de cassis, road tar, gamey meat, licorice, and flowers. In the mouth, the wine is pure fruit, with loads of glycerin, sweet tannin, and adequate acidity. While not a classic example of Provence, it is a very successful, mono-cepage offering. Enjoy it over the next 4-5 years. – Rated 90 Points, The Wine Advocate

Posted by Weygandt Wines at 7:09 pm

What We're Tasting This Week (Nov. 9-14)

Albariño, Asti, Austria, Barbera, Corbieres, France, Germany, Grenache, Italy, Languedoc, Piedmont, Red Wine, Rheingau, Rhône, Rias Biaxas, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Spain, Styria, Syrah, Tasting, Welschriesling, White Wine No Responses »
Nov 092009

We decided to take a European tour this week. Austria to Germany, then Italy and Spain, with a couple of stops in France to end our trip. We will be offering the case price discount on single bottles of any of the wines we are tasting. That’s 15% off any of the bottles listed below. The lineup and tasting notes are as follows:

Tement Temento Green 2008, Styria, Austria – Sauvignon Blanc and Welschriesling, 11.5% abv – Regular Price $15.99, This Week $13.59 – “This delightfully fresh and aromatic
blend of our principal grape varieties, Welschriesling and Sauvignon Blanc, beguiles one this year with its asparagus notes, underpinned by our typically Styrian acidity. An ideal foil for hors d’oeuvres and other light dishes, or simply whenever you feel like it. “

George Reisling Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Trocken 2007, Rheingau, Germany – 100% Reisling, 13% abv – Regular Price $21.99, This Week $18.69 – A classic, dry reisling from the Rheingau. For those who have the notion that all reislings are sweet, this is a good opportunity to taste the dry side of this beautiful grape.

Bodegas Pedralonga Albariño 2007, Rias Baixas, Spain – 100% Albariño, 13% abv, unfiltered – Regular Price $27.99, This Week $23.79 – A very full-bodied nose with notes of grapefruit, apple and floral hints. Structured and robust on the palate. Prominent minerality with lactic hints and slight, fruity acidity.

Boeri Barbera d’Asti D.O.C. 2005, Asti, Italy – 100% Barbera, 14% abv – Regular Price $18.99, This Week $15.99 – Martinette is the geographic name of one of Boeri’s best vineyards. This wine is typical of Barbera, soft but full bodied, ready to drink young, and it continues to develop with a few years of aging. Its versatility allows it to accompany a complete meal very well: appetizers of meat, full flavored first courses, rich second courses, and both fresh and seasoned cheeses. Refined 8 months in barrique and 8 months in bottle.

Chateau La Bastide Corbieres 2007, Languedoc, France – 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache – Regular Price $12.99, This Week $10.99 – “Durand’s 2007 Corbieres (bottled as “Chateau La Bastide,” a title legally afforded only to wines of appellation controlee status!) is an 80-20 Syrah-Grenache blend, half of which is aged in previously used barrels. Bright and juicy, saline and meaty, and with even more energy and sappy persistence than the other 2007 vintage Durand wines, this adds dimensions of stony, iodine-like minerality to its black pepper-tinged raw beef and blackberries to arrive at a wine far more complex and classy – not to mention lighter on its feet – than all but a handful of other wines in its appellation – and look at the price! Enjoy this unbelievable value over the next 2-3 years.

“Guilhem Durant’s La Bastide wines have long represented an excellent collection of wines at almost embarrassingly modest prices, but in vintage 2007, he simply out did himself with amazing abundance of value.” – WA 90 points

Jean-Michel Gerin Syrah Vin de Pays 2007, Rhone, France – 100% Syrah, 13% abv – Regular Price, $21.99, This Week $18.69 – Made from 100% Syrah grapes grown on high slopes in mica schist soil, this wine is drinking young (3-5 years) with cherry flavors, pepper and flexible tannins. Aged in barrels for 8 months

Posted by Weygandt Wines at 4:20 pm
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