One of the great things that makes these wines so rewarding is how drinkable they are after just a few short years
Clik here to view.
Before the weather turns into a full-blast heat wave - not that it won't change back in a week or so - I thought it was a good time to take another look at another part of the Rhone region of France in the foothills of the Alps.
I wrote a few weeks ago about one of my favorite, affordable, full-bodied red wines from this region: E Guigal's Cotes du Rhone.
This week, I'd love to write a bit about a region within that region that really needs no introduction but frankly doesn't get as much respect as the world-class wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy. This region in the southern part of the Rhone region is a commune (French for township, not some hippie haven) known as Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Remember that name. Because it just might turn out to be your best friend the next time you're in a restaurant.
One of the great things that makes these wines so rewarding is how drinkable they are after just a few short years. Often, they're absolutely delightful after a mere four or five years. Nearly every Chateauneuf-du-Papes will make your senses dance with delight when they touch the tip of your tongue. And the dancing will go on about as long - or ever longer - on your taste buds than the 32 fouettes (French for spinning on the tips of your toes) performed by the Black Swan in Act 3 of "Swan Lake." And that's a lot!
Four or five years might seem like a long time. But when you consider that some full-bodied Bordeaux wines reach their peaks 20 or 30 years after they were released, five years seems like a blink of the eye. And if you do like your wines more mature, you can also leave a Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the basement for a decade or more to mature into a smooth, well-balanced wine.
Here's another great thing about red wines from Chateauneuf-du-Pape: so many years have been so good in the last decade. Wine Spectator's most recent recommendations for which years from the Southern Rhone region are the best ones covers a wide range. With the exception of 2008 and 2011, every year received a rating of 93 or higher between 2003 and 2011.
Now, you could look at such numbers two different ways. Wine Spectator might be getting more generous with its grades. But even accounting for grade inflation, that's still a lot of great grades - and a lot of great wine.
And in almost every case, all of these wines are ready to drink, according to Wine Spectator. They recommend drinking Chateauneuf-du-Papes bottled in 2009, 2007, 2006, 2004 and 2003. They recommend holding 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Papes.I agree with all their recommendations, except perhaps for 2009. I'd hold onto those ones for another year or two at least.
Another great thing about these wines is they are often much more affordable than many other high-quality wines. Sure, they might not be the cheapest wines out there. But often, they're far less expensive than many wines that might not even taste as good or that cost three or four times as much.
What does that have to do with restaurants? Because so often, it's so hard to find wine that's affordable and ready to drink at many restaurants. Often, the wine's either too young or too expensive. Chateauneuf-du-Papes are like the third bowl of porridge Goldie Locks tasted in "Little Red Riding Hood." It's just right.
For the past two years, one of my standby favorite wines from Chateauneuf-du-Pape has been the 2007 Domaine Du Vieux Lazaret. Priced at around $30 a bottle, it's definitely not a bottle of wine most people - including myself - would open on a regular basis. But for more special occasions, at this price, it's absolutely outstanding.
The long, luscious finish on the Vieux Lazaret lingers for a full half minute or more. Other Chateauneuf-du-Papes have the same hypnotic effect. That's one of the things that make these wines so satisfying. It's very rare recently that you'll find a Chateauneuf-du-Pape more than four years old that doesn't leave you utterly satisfied and eager to try more. And that's something worth celebrating anytime!
Cheers