We blind tasted these six Southern Rhone wines
Southern Rhone wine recommendations
Vintage Wine Taster George held a blind tasting of six Southern Rhone wines. Southern Rhone wines are some of the best wine values available from France. The exception to this are the Rhone wines from Chateauneuf-du-Pape. They are highly popular and expensive to very expensive. The wines from the Southern Rhone are food friendly and delicious, but they are often overlooked. Perhaps because they are living in the shadow of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. Here are the wines we tasted. The wines are listed starting with the highest-ranked wine.
2012 Domaine de Piaugier Gigondas – Weimax Wines $22
2014 Domaine Coteaux des Travers-Rasteau – Weimax Wines $18
2013 Domaine Cabirau* – K&L Wines $13
2014 Plaugier-Doomaine de Plaugier du Sabiet Rhone Villages – Weimax $16
2010 Nadal-Domaine de Fondreche Cotes du Ventoux – The Wine House $25
2013 Mas Karolina Cotes Catalanes – K&L Wines $14
Southern Rhone Wine Information
Southern Rhone red wines may include the following grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault. Grenache tends to be the predominant grape in any Rhone blend. In case you are wondering, the Northern Rhone is all about Syrah. By law, Northern Rhone wines must be all Syrah. The Southern Rhone vineyards and producers are located on both sides of the Rhone River, between the cities of Vienne and Avignon. There are 15 AOC’s (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) in the Southern Rhone.
* 2013 Domaine Cabirau is in the Cotes du Roussillon and located outside the Rhone Valley, just to the southwest and near the great French city of Narbonne. The same grapes are grown in the Roussillon as are cultivated in the Southern Rhone. Of the six wines we tasted, the Domaine Cabirau at K&L Wines was the best value. This wine has the classic characteristic of a delicious Rhone-style wine at the fantastic price of $13.99. It is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Carignan. Robert Parker gives it a 91-Point rating. I think 89 Points is just about perfect for this wine.
The top rated wine, Domaine de Plaugier, is from the Gigondas AOC. This is an exceptional wine, and we rated it tops by a wide margin. It is a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. 92 Points by Steve Tanzer.
More on Gigondas AOC
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