Winemaker Notes
Blend: 60% Grenache Noir, 30% Syrah, 10% Mouvèdre.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very attractively fresh and juicy feel with smooth, ripe-raspberry aromas and flavors, as well as a smooth-honed and quite long web of tannin. This is raised in concrete tanks for freshness and brightness of fruit. A blend of 65% grenache, 25% syrah and 5% each of cinsault and mourvedre. Drink over the next six years.
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Tasting Panel
A dark and fragrant GSM at a great price. Lush, dense, and rich; complex, clean, and charming.
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Wine Enthusiast
This elegant,
easy-drinking blend of Grenache, Syrah and
Mourvèdre offers succulent blackberry flavor offset
by a cool granitic tone. Supple on the palate
and framed by fine, soft tannins, it’s immediately
approachable but should hold well through 2024.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
An appellation full of some of the most delightful and particularly charming reds, Côtes du Rhône Villages includes the best villages of the greater Côtes du Rhône appellation. The possibility for an appellation promotion exists for every named village but each has to achieve and prove superior quality before an upgrade will be granted. The main ones today are Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes-de-Venise, Vinsobres, Rasteau and Cairanne.
The Gigondas appellation, while sometimes producing wines with a touch of rusticity, can often rival Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Its elevations are higher and soils richer in limestone. Vacqueyras reds are more concentrated than the more general Côtes du Rhône reds and must be at least one half comprised of Grenache by law. Beaumes de Venise also includes some excellent higher elevation spots for making snappy, fruity and spicy reds but historically the appellation’s esteem came from its fragrant, sweet and golden Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise.