I find wines from the Cotes du Rhône a bit of a mixed bag, at least at the lower end of the spectrum, which, to be honest, is all I can afford. I find there is a marked increase in quality in the Cotes du Rhône-Villages appellation, so that's what I usually go for. This wine is from the next classification in the hierarchy: Cotes du Rhône Villages (named village). In this case the named village is Valréas.This particular wine I found interesting. Not because it's organic (I couldn't care less about that), but because at such a low price it exhibits all the characteristics of a "fine wine". It's got nice, fruity flavours, good acidity, and even tannins. OK, it's a bit high in alcohol (14.5%) and probably couldn't be described as "fine", but at this price it'll do for me.
Domaine de la Grande Bellane
Côtes du Rhône Villages Valréas 2006
Valréas, France
Tesco
£6-7
3/5
Posts
I bought a lot of the '98 of this (and some of the '01) and would agree - it punches well above its weight in good vintages. I seem to remember trying some lesser years and being less impressed. So the '07 (which is probably on the shelves now, or will be soon) should be well worth trying (as would the '05, if you can find any now).
ReplyDeleteYep, I plan to buy a few of the '07 - they should be in my local Tesco now :-)
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