2000 Pascal Cotat "Les Monts Damnes" Sancerre, Chavignol, Loire, France

Well established facts on winecommando:

1. We love Sauvignon Blanc, especially when the weather turns warmer
2. Sancerre's are among our favorites
3. We are drinking more Sancerre = weather has been a lot nicer around here
   

I mentioned in an earlier post that we are beginning to pull more white wines up to be chilled and ready for action. We are also out and about looking for what might be interesting, a good value, and not yet tried by us. We came across this wine a couple weeks ago and grabbed it... the label, the price AND it is a Sancerre. I also remembered reading a great review on Vinography of the 2005 vintage of this wine. Sounds like a winning lineup for us.

It was.

Alder at Vinography did a terrific job setting the story for this wine, so I'll refer you to his review to get the background. "Les Monts Damnes" is French for "Those Damned Mountains".

Now, let's taste this bottle. The first thing we noticed was how light and pale the color in the glass was, with almost a yellowish-greenish tint to it. We loved the nose and found it to have tropical fruit, sort of uncommon for a Sancerre... at least in our experience, balanced by a crispness and strong mineral scent that kept the nose clean, clean, clean. It continued to open in the glass and the fruit became rounder and softer, and more subtle with more lemony citrus becoming prominent. The palate was a bit of a surprise, like the nose, and was richer and more dense with more complexity than we have tasted in this style of wine. This was still DEFINITELY a Sauvignon Blanc, but the palate actually had a sweetness to the fruit which approached being "buttery". That sounds absolutely crazy, like insane talk... but it is true. There is still that great and classic Loire acidity and minerally quality but with fruit more like ripe peaches than grapefruit, though there is definitely lemon citrus and it is very evident in the finish. We really dug this wine and it forced us to totally change up our expectations for Sancerre. I would go so far as to say that this is the most unique Sancerre I have ever tired, and definitely the most memorable. Sometimes you begin to ride your preconceived notions of a wine or wine region and may even begin assuming an experience. It is good to have those notions shaken or shattered, as long as the wine still tastes good and you felt like it was a good value. Right?

cost - $33.99 on sale from $36.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 9.25

we were not able to find this wine available online in the 2000 vintage, but the 2004 is available at WineAccess

2000 Chateau Rayas La Pialade Cotes-du-Rhone, Vaucluse, France

Back in 1880 Albert Reynaud, at the age of 45, suddenly went deaf. He was a notary in the city of Avignon in the Rhone valley. This was of course very sad, and it forced him to change professions. This turned out to be good fortune for the rest of us over 100 years later, as he purchased Chateau Rayas and set in motion the events that would make it a powerhouse of Rhone wine. This would take many years, and four generations to fully realize, and the wine reviewed here is from the direction of his great great nephew, Emmanuel Reynaud.

This bottle was a pleasant surprise. We had opened one a few weeks ago and really, really enjoyed it. We opened this one last week and it maintained that theme. This is a direct wine, strong in its style. Made from Grenache, it puts out front in the nose deep, dark fruit of plums and raisins filled out with tobacco and green peppers. There is a strong vegetal quality behind all of the fruit that creates a depth we definitely appreciated. The palate was full of plum and a little strawberry, more raisin and ripe olives. Very balanced and smooth, there is a strong earthy quality to tie together the other flavors, as well as a subtle cedar taste towards the finish. This wine is not so much elegant as it is just bold, but not in a heavy bodied sort of way as this wine is definitely light to medium bodied. It just has strong qualities to it. The raisin/green peppers/ripe olives set it apart from the balance of Cotes-du-Rhones that we have tried. These qualities also lend this one to be an excellent complement to hearty foods. For the quality and character that this wine presents we consider it an exceptional value and a great contrast to the more traditional style Grenache wines, a few of which we have reviewed here on winecommando.

cost - $22.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.75

2000 E. Guigal Gigondas, Cotes-du-Rhone, France

The Cotes du Rhone region in southern France is incredibly diverse when it comes to wine, with much more flexibility in the wines that can be produced throughout the area... as compared to the regions of Bordeaux or Burgundy. The Rhone stretches from south of Lyon, France all the way to the Mediterranean and the wines that come out of the area range from big, full-bodied Chateauneuf du Pape and Cote Rotie in the north to lighter, more fruit forward wines like Crozes Hermitage in the south. Gigondas is located in the south, and the wines from here are a favorite as Gigondas rouge presents many qualities that make it not only great with food, but very flexible with what will work well with it.

To me, Gigondas is a terrific alternative to the much more expensive wines of Chateauneuf du Pape. Both offer complex, bigger style wines, but the wines of Gigondas usually go overlooked next to more famous and recognized Rhone neighbors. Vineyards and wineries in Gigondas date back to Roman times a it was the Romans who saw the potential to grow intense, concentrated grapes that take advantage of the abundant Mediterranean sun and the rich alluvial clays that make up the soil. Great combination. The grapes that thrive in this area and that comprise Gigondas are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre - all grapes that tend to like the sun and warmer weather. This wine is made up of a blend that is 50% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 25% Mourvedre.

We opened this bottle and decanted for about 45 minutes. When we poured our glasses we both noticed how deeply purple the wine is, but not as dark and inky as some of the 100% Syrah's that we have had recently. The nose was really interesting, with hints of dried apricots, anise and green peppers. There is a distinct vegetal quality to the nose that we really like. Smelling again later, after a couple sips, I picked up a really subtle sweetness to the nose that was behind apricot and green peppers and I can only describe it as the smell of canned fruit right after you open the can. The palate was rich, velvety and full-bodied. We tasted green peppers more intensely than in the nose, balanced by cassis and brighter raspberry flavors. The finish is long with tastes of chocolate and cedar. This wine was good, but it had sharper edges to it that we know will mellow with age. I think that the 2000 is drinking well now, we enjoyed it, but this would be a vintage to investigate again in five to ten years. My guess is those sharp edges will have softened and will be replaced by more richness and depth.

cost - $29.99

winecommado rating (1-10) - 7.5

2000 Merryvale Profile, Napa Valley, California

My brother's birthday was a few days ago. We don't normally exchange gifts as we are of that age where birthday gifts for your siblings is not top-of-mind, so to speak. Anyway, he sent me a pretty terrific surprise gift for my birthday earlier the same week (the DVD box set of ALL of the Pink Panther Movies... and yes, that's how I roll) and I needed to reciprocate. So I contacted a recommended wine shop in Brooklyn (Red, White, and Bubbly) , where he and his wonderful girlfriend live, and this beautiful bottle was hand delivered on behalf of winecommando as a birthday gift. I asked that they review the wine for us, as we have not tried it, and JL and mattisimo have obliged with what is the FIRST guest wine review on winecommando:

"Having friends and family who know wines is a great asset for novices like us. We've attended our share of tasting events and have wined and dined with those in the know, and through these experiences, we have discovered what flavors and qualities we like, yet we
are usually at the mercy of a good wine shop owner or somelier, or at least a wine list with good descriptions. So it was a wonderful surprise to receive a bottle of Merryvale 'Profile' Red Wine as a birthday gift from the experienced folks at winecommando.

Merryvale Vineyards is located in the lovely town of St. Helena, in Napa Valley. 'Profile' is one of their Prestige wines, "a proprietary red Bordeaux blend." This bottle, from 2000, is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. Letting it rest for about half an hour resulted in a nice rich wine with a smooth finish. It tasted of dark berries, a little smokey, and just enough body to remind you of the complexity of the blend. This wine would pair well with heartier meats,like beef or pork, or perhaps rich poultry, like turkey or duck. It was a delicious foray into blended wines. This was also an introduction to a new (to us) California winery, and certainly one to seek out on our next trip to Napa. Merryvale was the first winery built in Napa Valley after the end of Prohibition. This family-owned winery is dedicated to the art of winemaking, and their wines have received much acclaim, both here and abroad. And from a couple of NY novices, the 2000 'Profile' wins our praise."

cost - a birthday gift from the folks at winecommando

(guest) winecommando rating (1-10) - 8.5

2000 Kent Rasmussen WInery Pinot Noir, Carneros, California

Kent Rasmussen started his winery in 1979 when he planted six acres of Pinot Noir vines. At that time Carneros was not thought of as optimal vineyard area and had relatively few thriving vineyards. Vineyards had once been planted throughout the area, dating back to the time that it was originally homesteaded in the 1830's, but the industry never caught on with any success. By the end of WWII, most of the vineyards had been pulled or were overgrown and forgotten.

It is an incredibly challenging area to grow grapes of any kind, but especially daunting to attempt to grow Pinot Noir there. Obviously, this did not stop Mr. Rasmussen and he persevered adding additional vineyard land in the process. By the time Carneros had caught on as a good area to grow Pinot Noir, Kent Rasmussen was already comfortably situated as the vanguard and the largest Pinot Noir vineyard owner.

He made his first wines from his plantings in 1986. Twenty years later his wines are respected and renowned throughout the world and Carneros is considered to be one of the best areas to grow Pinot Noir in California. Now that's vision.

We enjoyed this bottle. In the glass the wine offers great ruby color tinged with that reddish brown around the edges that is indicative of Pinot Noir. The nose was remarkably full, with hints of blackberry and Earl Grey tea. Cat picked up a little black licorice. The full nose gave way to a lighter palate with slightly brighter fruit, a little earthiness, and a lingering and slightly sharp finish. Cat noticed a slight metallic taste to the finish but I did not get that, but it did initially react with the back corners of my tongue. After the bottle had opened up for about 30 minutes we found it to be quite nice, very elegant, and much softer with almost a perfume like quality to the nose. Good wine.

cost - $24.99

winecommando rating (1-10) - 8