2007 Cotes du Rhone Villages Garrigues

A whopper, the 2007 Cotes du Rhone Les Garrigues is one of the finest Cotes du Rhones I have ever tasted. Cropped at 25 hectoliters per hectare, and made from 100% Grenache (80-year-old vines just across the border from Chateauneuf du Pape), this sublime wine boasts a dense purple color as well as a stunning bouquet of kirsch, licorice, pepper, and spice box. The explosive aromatics are followed by a full-bodied, voluptuously textured, super rich wine with great purity and depth. The 1990 Les Garrigues is still holding up beautifully, and while I usually try to drink my Cotes du Rhones in their first 3-5 years of life, this offering has at least a decade of “wow” status. This remarkable wine must be tasted to be believed! Always one of my favorite stops on my Rhone Valley trips, Domaine de la Janasse is run with incredible passion by Christophe Sabon, his sister Isabelle, and his father, who showed up nearly half naked as he was bringing in some white grapes on the torridly hot day I visited. What this family operation has achieved over the last decade is nothing short of remarkable considering the breadth of wines made, from their Vin de Pays, which are among the finest made in France, to their world-class Cotes du Rhones and Chateauneuf du Papes. While this estate is at the top of its game, it is not content to rest on the status quo and continues to push the envelope. Their 2008s are among the finest wines of the vintage, and as the following tasting notes and scores indicate, their 2007s are out of this world. The 2008 reds are surprisingly strong across the board at Domaine de la Janasse. There is no Cotes du Rhone Les Garrigues or Chateauneuf du Pape Chaupin in this vintage, but the other cuvees are all noteworthy. 2007 is the greatest vintage I have ever tasted of Domaine de la Janasse – and that’s says something given the amazing wines produced here in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Selections, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565