Domaine “La Garrigue” Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine

The 2007 Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Romaine, a custom cuvee for importer Eric Solomon made from 60 to 90-year old vines, is a joint project of Solomon and the Bernard family that owns the wonderful Gigondas restaurant, Les Florets, and the brilliant oenologist, Philippe Cambie. A sensational blend of 65% Grenache, 25% Mourvedre, and 10% Syrah, it boasts a dense purple color along with a gorgeous nose of creosote, kirsch, blackberries, licorice, and hints of smoked herbs and roasted meats. The wine possesses fabulous ripeness, fresh acidity, full body, and layers of both flavor and depth. It is a remarkable effort, but readers who purchase it should be sure it has the Eric Solomon strip label as the same wine, bottled much later, is sold in other markets. In my opinion, those wines have lost a lot of their freshness.

While drinking this wine, I was convinced that I was drinking a high-end Châteauneuf-du-Pape and not a simple Côtes du Rhône as the label states. Knock-out aromas of roasted herbs, meat juices and leather are followed by rich, opulent and ripe fruit flavors, all framed by firm, savory tannins. A hedonistic delight, this cuvée must be tasted to be believed.