Couple of wines tasted over last 4 days:

2007 Ch. de Roquefort "Corail" rosé (Cotes de Provence)
This was with some ham and a mixture of beet greens and broccoli rabe.
Strawberries and cherries marinated in citrus. Good acidity, a
pleasing bitter note in background, very tasty. On days 2 & 3 the
citrus/bitter had faded, but still a tasty simple rosé. Label says
Grenache, Styrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Vermentino. & Clairette. B/B+
*
2006 St Cosme Cotes du Rhone
This was with a lamb chop. Good body for a CdR, a peppery note over
fairly dense dark berry fruit. Some tannins, ok length. Holds up well
overnight. Not running out for more, but might pick up if I wanted to
fill a case, and it's got enough body to last for a while. B
*
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

On May 19, 3:26�pm, DaleW > wrote:
> Couple �of wines tasted over last 4 days:
>
> 2007 Ch. de Roquefort "Corail" ros� (Cotes de Provence)
> This was with some ham and a mixture of beet greens and broccoli rabe.
> Strawberries and cherries marinated in citrus. Good acidity, a
> pleasing bitter note in background, very tasty. On days 2 & 3 the
> citrus/bitter had faded, but still a tasty simple ros�. �Label says
> Grenache, Styrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Vermentino. & Clairette. B/B+
> �
> 2006 St Cosme Cotes du Rhone
> This was with a lamb chop. Good body for a CdR, a peppery note over
> fairly dense dark berry fruit. Some tannins, ok length. Holds up well
> overnight. Not running out for more, but might pick up if I wanted to
> fill a case, and it's got enough body to last for a while. B
> �
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

Is it me or has the nature of Cotes du Rhone fundimentally changed in
the past few years? It seems that every CdR that I've had in the past
3-4 years has been fairly dark and dense and even a bit jammy. I've
just had the '02, '03 and '05 St Cosme and found them all to be dark
berry jammy full bodied wines yet early vintages such as '95, '96 and
'99 showed a lighter more balanced and restrained "French style" wine.

Bi!! wrote:

> Is it me or has the nature of Cotes du Rhone fundimentally changed in
> the past few years? It seems that every CdR that I've had in the past
> 3-4 years has been fairly dark and dense and even a bit jammy. I've
> just had the '02, '03 and '05 St Cosme and found them all to be dark
> berry jammy full bodied wines yet early vintages such as '95, '96 and
> '99 showed a lighter more balanced and restrained "French style" wine.

I think that CdRs have, overall, grown weightier in the past decade.
Probably the biggest reason is the price escalation for CdP, providing a
lot of financial incentive for CdR producers to make "CdP lite." Viewed
in the most positive light, this means no more overcropping and more
strict selection of old vine parcels for more prestigious cuvées. And
look what's happened to CdR prices over the past 5-10 years: wines that
previously sold for $5 a bottle now sell for close to $20 a bottle. The
"new" CdR is likely the Languedoc, where you can still find GSM blends
for $5 a bottle, at least until the eroding value of the $ send them
upward, too.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On May 19, 4:05Â*pm, "Bi!!" > wrote:
> On May 19, 3:26�pm, DaleW > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Couple �of wines tasted over last 4 days:
>
> > 2007 Ch. de Roquefort "Corail" ros� (Cotes de Provence)
> > This was with some ham and a mixture of beet greens and broccoli rabe.
> > Strawberries and cherries marinated in citrus. Good acidity, a
> > pleasing bitter note in background, very tasty. On days 2 & 3 the
> > citrus/bitter had faded, but still a tasty simple ros�. �Label says
> > Grenache, Styrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Vermentino. & Clairette. B/B+
> > �
> > 2006 St Cosme Cotes du Rhone
> > This was with a lamb chop. Good body for a CdR, a peppery note over
> > fairly dense dark berry fruit. Some tannins, ok length. Holds up well
> > overnight. Not running out for more, but might pick up if I wanted to
> > fill a case, and it's got enough body to last for a while. B
> > �
> > Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> > wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
> > drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
> > promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
>
> Is it me or has the nature of Cotes du Rhone fundimentally changed in
> the past few years? Â*It seems that every CdR that I've had in the past
> 3-4 years has been fairly dark and dense and even a bit jammy. Â*I've
> just had the '02, '03 and '05 St Cosme and found them all to be dark
> berry jammy full bodied wines yet early vintages such as '95, '96 and
> '99 showed a lighter more balanced and restrained "French style" wine.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

This one wasn't jammy. The base St Cosme (as opposed to the Deux
Albion) is I think all Syrah. I've been drinking St Cosme since 90s
(not sure when I started, between '96 & '99 vintages) and see vintage
variations, but not a trend. The '99 was about like this one- a CdR
that could pass for a fairly hefty Crozes. Personally, I like this
style of CdR rather than more Grenache driven ones.

That said, I think that Mark has a point about prices, CdP, and CdRs
in general. I also think the generic light negociant CdRs of the pass
are imported here less as the Rhone gained popularity, there's a
little more selectivity.