Our first selection from the delicious 2010 vintage in the southern Rhone!
This is our sort of southern year! The 2010 vintage is one where balance takes precedence over brawn and fresh red/black fruits with great spice and lift are more the name of the game than heavier, cooked or stewed flavors.
It is, in short, a return to easy pleasure and effortless drinking—not that we don’t love a bit of muscle, but balance is crucial when it comes to both savoring and cellaring, and 2010 has balance and pleasure in spades.
Lots of spice, soft tannins and lots of silky flavors—the old-vines 2010 Côtes du Rhône is almost more Burgundian in style than swarthy southern red, but straddles both styles with grace. Winemaker Michel Arlaud’s ancient Grenache vines—some more than 100 years old—deliver some of the more character-rich Côtes du Rhône in the appellation. This is classic Châteauneuf terroir, with enormous stones, poor soils and gnarled vines that have been around for generations.
Burgundian silk meets southern Rhône soul? It’s pretty much an ideal situation in our books and we think you’ll agree.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Domaine la Milliere Côtes du Rhône Vieilles Vignes 2010
France
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Rhône Valley
A very elegant and silky Cotes du Rhône that is as rare as a cold summer in the south—2010 was a very stingy vintage yet what it gave is incredibly pure, fresh and very balanced. This Grenache blend (90% Grenache, 5% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre) reminds us more in style and texture of a Cote de Nuits Burgundy; the nose is spiced, a blend of Nuits licorice and earth with southern garrigue. Plentiful and ripe black and red berries on the mouth, great lift and velvety tannins all make for a very supple, velvety and balanced red.
$19.95
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