The Côtes du Rhône is an enormous appellation with considerable variation in quality. At its worst, the wines can be thin, insipid and vapid. At their best, they deliver much of the character of many smarter appellations at a modest price.
Many of the better Côtes du Rhônes are bottled by the negoçiant arms of the bigger players in the Rhone Valley; names such as Guigal, Chapoutier and Delas come to mind. They often represent very good value for money, and in better vintages can develop in bottle for several years.
Domaine des Bacchantes Côtes du Rhône is the produced by a co-operative, Les Vignerons d’Esterzargues. Its quality is testimony to the enormous strides achieved in France over the past couple of decades. It is not just the wines at the top of the tree that have improved, but everyday drinking wines such as these.
At Les Vignerons d’Esterzargues, the wines of its different member growers are vinified and bottled as separate cuvées, in this case as Domaine des Bacchantes. While the quality of the fruit going into some of the cuvees is clearly very good, especially in vintages such as 2010, there is a clearly an intelligent hand at the winemaking rudder. There is clearly a lot of extract in this Syrah dominant blend, but not at the expense of balance. The use of sulphur is minimal, being added only at the time of bottling. Similarly, the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.
In sum, this is wine that is treated with the same care as a Châteauneuf-du-Pape luxury cuvée, but with a more humble origin and modest price-tag. There’s lots to enjoy in this big boned wine, plenty of depth of fruit and a touch of spicy complexity. Although drinking well now, it should hold for 3-4 years.
2010 CÔTES DU RHÔNE, DOMAINE DES BACCHANTES
Producer: Les Vignerons d’Esterzargues
Variety: Grenache et al
Vintage: 2010
Region: Southern Rhône, France
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural Cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $24.99
Date tasted: 30 May 2012
Tasting Note:
Deep crimson. Brooding nose of kirsch, black cherry, blackberry, star anise and liquorice. Full bodied but not rich or heavy, relatively low acidity, the characters on the nose follow through to the palate, which displays excellent fruit intensity for a wine at this level. Although there’s quite a lot of extract and the alcohol level is high, the wine is well balanced.
Score: 16/20
Many of the better Côtes du Rhônes are bottled by the negoçiant arms of the bigger players in the Rhone Valley; names such as Guigal, Chapoutier and Delas come to mind. They often represent very good value for money, and in better vintages can develop in bottle for several years.
Domaine des Bacchantes Côtes du Rhône is the produced by a co-operative, Les Vignerons d’Esterzargues. Its quality is testimony to the enormous strides achieved in France over the past couple of decades. It is not just the wines at the top of the tree that have improved, but everyday drinking wines such as these.
At Les Vignerons d’Esterzargues, the wines of its different member growers are vinified and bottled as separate cuvées, in this case as Domaine des Bacchantes. While the quality of the fruit going into some of the cuvees is clearly very good, especially in vintages such as 2010, there is a clearly an intelligent hand at the winemaking rudder. There is clearly a lot of extract in this Syrah dominant blend, but not at the expense of balance. The use of sulphur is minimal, being added only at the time of bottling. Similarly, the wine is bottled without fining or filtration.
In sum, this is wine that is treated with the same care as a Châteauneuf-du-Pape luxury cuvée, but with a more humble origin and modest price-tag. There’s lots to enjoy in this big boned wine, plenty of depth of fruit and a touch of spicy complexity. Although drinking well now, it should hold for 3-4 years.
2010 CÔTES DU RHÔNE, DOMAINE DES BACCHANTESProducer: Les Vignerons d’Esterzargues
Variety: Grenache et al
Vintage: 2010
Region: Southern Rhône, France
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural Cork
Format: 750ml
Retail price: $24.99
Date tasted: 30 May 2012
Tasting Note:
Deep crimson. Brooding nose of kirsch, black cherry, blackberry, star anise and liquorice. Full bodied but not rich or heavy, relatively low acidity, the characters on the nose follow through to the palate, which displays excellent fruit intensity for a wine at this level. Although there’s quite a lot of extract and the alcohol level is high, the wine is well balanced.
Score: 16/20
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