Wine Club – Cotes du Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pape

For the month’s meeting we were taking a look a couple of wines from southern Rhône – a 2004 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhône and a 2005 Perrin & Fils “Les Sinards” Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Kim, a Wine Club member, was nice enough to make a homemade lasagna to go with the wines.

"And in this corner..."

Both wines were a nice dark ruby/purple in colour. The nose on the E. Guigal was a combination of spice and dark berry. The nose on the Perrin & Flis had cherry, tobacco and a slight floral element lingering in the background. Out of the two wines the Perrin & Fils was my winner for nose.

"The plucky half price option"

Tasting both of these wines was interesting as they both had a lot in common; fruit and spice on the tongue to start, big tannins and good acidity. Where they differed was the finish the Perrin & Fils had a smoother finish. I was leaning towards Perrin & Fils as the more enjoyable wine of the two before we tried the food.

"Was it worth double the money?"

With the food, I actually liked the E. Guigal more as the lasagna mellowed the finish and brought more fruit to the forefront. The Perrin & Fils with the lasagna picked up a funny taste at times.

Here is the LCBO information on both wines –

E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône

LCBO# 259721
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.40
Wine, Red Wine,
13% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 1
Made in: Rhone, France
By: E. Guigal,
Release Date: N/A

Tasting Note - Deep ruby purple colour; complex aromas of mixed spice, plums, dark berry and pepper with floral notes; dry, medium to full-bodied, well balance with supple tannins, and flavours of white pepper, cassis,black cherry and mineral; good length on the finish.
Serving Suggestion - Pepper steak, lamb, grilled portabello mushrooms or seared duck in a cherry reduction sauce.

Perrin & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Les Sinards”

Vintages# 926626
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 38.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Rhone, France
By: Perrin & Fils
Release Date: Oct 11, 2008

Description - Jean-Pierre, François and Pierre Perrin created Les Sinards as an homage to their late grandfather. With some of the grapes sourced from their famous Château de Beaucastel estate, this is a classic Châteauneuf with cherry, chocolate, tobacco and chicory aromas. It's dry, medium- to full-bodied and packed with rich fruit flavours, as well as earthy and smoky notes. With such great structure, match with a leg of lamb or roast beef cooked with plenty of garlic, thyme and rosemary. It will also reward 2-4 years in a cellar

I would probably give the Perrin & Fils the nod as the better wine of the two but not by much; it certainly wasn’t worth twice the price. Both wines went with the lasagna but I’d probably prefer a Merlot over either them. Being completely honest – both were fun to try but I wasn’t blown away by either and don’t see myself rushing out to get more. I do have a bottle of the 2004 E. Guigal as my “take home” bottle from Wine Club which I will store on the rack. I’d be curious to try this wine again with prime rib roast or roast chicken and see how it pairs as I suspect that it would be very good.

Next month’s meeting we’ll be taking a look at South African Chenin Blanc vs. a French Chenin Blanc.

I don’t see any wine opportunities coming up from now until Christmas, so I take this time to wish all three or four of my dedicated readers a Merry Christmas and hope that they all receive a nice bottle or two under the tree this year!

Cheers!

Mark