Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tesco Finest St. Joseph 2006

This purchase was a gamble. One reason that it's a gamble is that I rarely pay more than £7 for a bottle. The other reason is that I'm trying to find a Rhone red wine that I actually like.

It was a gamble and I lost. I know that St. Joseph doesn't produce the most stunning wines of the Rhone valley, but at this price I expected more. Where are all these big, powerful wines that I'm always hearing about? This isn't powerful, it's limp and tastes like raspberry juice. It could easily be mistaken for a Beaujolais. Maybe that appeals to some people, I don't know. If I had paid full price for this (there's no way I would have), I would have returned it.

I don't know who produced it, and I don't care.

Yes, I know I'm not going to get the Rhone's finest example of Syrah for nine quid, but surely I don't have to shell out £80 for a "proper" Hermitage or Cote-Rotie? I've said if before, maybe I just don't like Rhone wines, but I'm still not convinced I've had a really, really good one.

Tesco
Tesco Finest St. Joseph 2006
St. Joseph, Rhone Valley, France
£8.99 (£14.99)
2/5

2 comments:

  1. I was disappointed, too - very thin. Fortunately, I forot about the remaining half bottle for three days - then poured another glass and - BINGO - a much more robust and flavoursome drink.

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  2. Interesting. Maybe decanting it would have helped? Will remember that for next time...

    Tim

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