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- MORE RHÔNE SELECTIONS
DOMAINE D'AÉRIA
 Though he's
primarily specializing in wines and spirits from the Southwest of France,
Charles Neal became familiar with this Rhône property thanks to his acquaintance
with a pharmacist in Montréal du Gers where he found the wonderful wines of
Château de Pellehaut. Though he lacked a prescription for Rhône
wines, the pharmacist gave him a bottle of wine from Domaine D'Aéria and
Monsieur Neal was impressed enough to pay a visit to the estate.
- The estate has been "in the family" since the 1700s. The
domaine comprises some 18 hectares presently, 12 of them being Grenache,
with 2 hectares each of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignane.
- Monsieur Gap pours some of his wares.
We have the outstanding 2001 Cairanne. The appellation of Cairanne is
one of the better sites in the southern Rhône and it's typically bottled
with that "superior" designation. Bob is a big fan of the
wines from this village (not far from Gigondas and Vacqueyras). D'Aéria's
wine is made of about 70% Grenache, the vines being 40+ years of age.
The balance is Syrah and Mourvèdre. Bottled unfiltered, this shows
the classic berry and spice notes of top Rhône wines. It is drinkable
now and likely to cellar well for another 3-5 years.
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The winery is a very traditional, functional facility.
Given that there's still a calendar hanging up on the wall from 1967, I'm
guessing not much has changed over the past several decades.
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 The
2005 has recently arrived. This is a beautifully balanced wine.
The color is dark, but not inky. The aromas are teeming with red
fruits and I find a note of camellias with an underlying floral tone. It's ripe, but not jammy and over-ripe. The wine has a
bit of weight on the palate without being heavy. It's lovely now and
ought to really blossom over the next year with some bottle aging. I
expect it may go 5-8 years if you have that much "won't power" to
not open the bottles! At its modest price, don't miss it!
- Currently in stock: 2005 Cairanne Cuvée Tradition $14.99
MY DINNER
WITH THE GAPS
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I have actually dined Chez Gap three times...each time it's been memorable!
The "Tour de France" link in the frame to the left and down below
will get you, eventually, to a dinner with Magalie and Roland.
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DOMAINE CATHERINE LE GOEUIL
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 We're
big fans of the wines of the Cairanne appellation, finding them to be some
of the most complex of the Southern Rhône.
Catherine Le Goeuil has about 17 hectares of vineyards, the average age of
her vineyards being about 40 years. She's a big fan or organic
farming and does not use any herbicides or pesticides. Her vineyards
were designated as "biologique" as of the 2000 vintage.
We had a lovely 2001 bottling from this estate and today her wines are
imported by Kermit Lynch. The 2005 Léa Felsch bottling of Cairanne is
terrific. It's Grenache-based, of course, but there are numerous other
varieties in the mix: Syrah,
Carignan, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Counoise. I like the dark cherry
and brushy, spice notes. The wine is medium-full on the palate and
immediately drinkable. It can probably be cellared for several years,
too.
Currently in stock: 2005 Cairanne "Léa
Felsch" $19.99
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- DOMAINE
DE LA DAMASE
 This
is a smallish family-run domaine in the town of Violes in the southern Rhône.
A young California winemaker has befriended the Latour family and now
imports a small quantity of their wines.
He's had some input as to the production and blending of a few things and we
found a couple of interesting wines in the portfolio.
Most interesting is a wine called "Le Clochard," a French term for
"hobo." Winemaker Kenny Likitprakong makes wines under his
"Hobo" label in California and he's imported some terrific wines
from the Domaine de la Damase.
Le Clochard is a mere "vin de table" because for southern Rhône
producers, the wine must have a minimum of 40% Grenache for the Côtes du Rhône
designation. This wine is a mere 5% Grenache, 5% Syrah and 90% Mourvèdre.
That means it cannot be sold as Côtes du Rhône and it's "merely"
a Vin de Table. No vintage date can appear on the label, either, so
they put a small icon of a rooster, as 2005 in the Chinese calendar is a
year of the rooster. The wine is remarkably good and quite
soulful. It's a bit more supple than most Bandol wines, for example,
but you can still find the fragrances and flavors of Mourvèdre.
 A
second wine from this estate is labeled as "Vin de Pays de
Vaucluse," since Merlot is not high on the list of approved varieties
in this part of the world.
We were surprised to find Merlot to be included in this wine, since to us,
frankly, it resembles more a nice Côtes du Rhône. It's medium-light
bodied and offers a lovely fragrance of cherries, berries and a hint of
spice. This is the sort of red you'll want to serve lightly cooled to
cellar temp.
Currently in stock: LE CLOCHARD Vin de Table SALE
$17.99
DOMAINE DE LA DAMASE Vin de Pays de Vaucluse SALE
$8.99-
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More Wines Coming.
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