La Crau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend

Medium Ruby with a pronounced bouquet of crushed strawberry and raspberry, black cherry, garrigue, leather, violet, thyme and lavender. Well balanced acidity and tannin even at this early stage and an exceptional finish. A wonderful wine with years ahead but already great. 65% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre and 5% “sundry others.” 14.5% abv

Yum.

Good vintage. Big.

Clean and round. Bracing minerality. Oily and wonderful.

Violets and roses, red cherry, currants, raspberry and dried herbs.

2/10/19 Tasting group- Dyer. Funkadelic. Mercaptan. Green. Tawny color. Orange zest. Tannic. Dirty. My 6th, group 4th.

I usually don’t drink wines this big. But it was a warm day and I cooked a NY steak so wanted something substantial. It didn’t disappoint. Dark fruit, a little bit sweet and some spice. Perfect for the day and meat. What I appreciated was the touch of acidity it delivered so you still want the next sip. It’s got its place in the firmament.

2010-absolutely delicious and drinking well

Delicate for a CDP. Peppery strawberry and garrigue. 👍

2011. Blanc. No one drinks enough of this. That's because there are so few things to which its a good partner, but it would be an incredible cheese-and-charcuterie wine. Broad and oily, there's just enough acid to keep you coming back for more. Sun-baked yellow orchard fruits dominate, but there's more exotic fruits too (mango and dried pineapple) yellow flowers, tons of almond husk bitterness, green olives, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, white cheddar. Oak is assertively present but not overwhelming. Place dominates over grapes here, as it's a mix of Clairette and Grenache Blanc and a hodge-podge of other things.