Rhone Rhone Baby
I speak to a lot of people about wine in my day to day life – more than most. And sooner or later the question of “your favourite wine or region?” seems to come out.
There are so many folks who pick the obvious: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne – classic French regions the lot, but also regions that are out of reach financially for many.
Which is why I’m a huge fan of the Rhone Valley – no other region offers such value and good wine year after year … and if you are of means they have wines for you too.
It’s hard to deny the Rhone’s appeal especially with wines like this coming out from there …
Olivier Ravoire 2011 Cairanne Cotes du Rhone Villages ($18.95)
This fabulous chocolate, raspberry, cherry, vanilla concoction delivers on the delicious, plus it adds such awesome other flavours like fig and licorice, all with a great backbone of acidity to keep it fresh.
Vidal-Fleury 2012 Domaine de Vieille Fontaine Cotes du Rhone Villages ($17.95)
Another full flavoured red Rhone blend which heads into the realm of herbal with plum, black cherry, leather, smoke and blueberry – it’s hard to put the glass down when wine is this good.
Gabriel Meffre 2011 Laurus Cotes du Rhone Villages ($17.95)
Here’s a juicy, raspberry, strawberry, cherry and plum number; each new fruit flavour that crosses the tongue seems to seal the deal on this wine sip after sip.