Reported by Mark Kilpatrick
The National Capital Sommelier Guild met to taste and comment on the Rhone theme release being offered the following Saturday.
The wines were organized in three flights of four wines each, all of them young reds. A vote for the favourite wines within each flight, a Guild tradition, was via a show of hands and was followed by a lively discussion.
 The favourite wine of the first flight was Memoire des Temps Rouge, medium ruby colour, full bodied, with a white pepper nose, sweet fruit, some tannins, with a nice dose of acidity. Still obviously young, but showed well. The second favourite, Château Lamargue Cuvée Aegidiane, showed well as well, a wine of deep ruby colour, pink rim, with some pepper and plums notes. In the mouth, this was a wine with nice raspberry fruit, full bodied, with obvious tannins and quite dry, and a nice finish.
Flight two was a bit of a surprise, in that the overwhelming favourite of the 24 attendees, a wine made from Rhone area grapes, was not a Rhone wine itself. It was the Langmeil Three Gardens Shiraz/Grenache/Mouvèdre, a wine of deep ruby colour, strawberries and cassis in the nose, with some vanilla. In the mouth it was full bodied, with a touch of sour cherry fruit, very fruit forward, with some nice acid, and a nice lingering finish. The Domaine Mourchon Seguret Côtes du Rhône-Villages Tradition was choice number two, a deep ruby wine with a white pepper nose, and a touch of menthol as well. Full body and quite tannic, this was another wine to hold on to for a few years. The third favourite of the flight was Château du Trignon Sablet Côtes du Rhône-Villages, a village wine that was a bit too young to show well, but had nice promise with a closed nose, nice balance of acid & tannins, with good length and a peppery finish. If everyone had been able to vote twice, the Domaine Grosset Cairanne Côtes du Rhône-Villages, which was the 4th place wine, would have come in as second favourite of the flight. It was a nice contrast to the Aussie red, more typical of a young village Rhone wine, with it’s lighter colour, red plumy fruit, and nice dry finish.
 The favourite wine of flight three was the Domaine du Galet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a deep ruby coloured wine, with nice smoke and strawberries on the nose, with notes of licorice and tar, a full body wine with a good balance of fruit, acid, and tannin. This was a very good wine that had a nice finish that lingered quite long and showed well. The second favourite was a tie vote between the Cave de Tain Cornas and the Tradition le Grand Montmirail Gigondas. My personal favourite between these two was the Cornas, a deep ruby wine with nice raspberry notes with spices of anise and cloves, full bodied in the mouth, it had loads of raspberry fruit, with the acid and tannins to match. A nicely balanced wine, that lingered for quite some time. The Gigondas was nice as well, but being somewhat closed, did not show as well to me. A little different, as it showed more mineral notes, and needs more time to open up and show well. Coming in 4th for the attendees was the Coudoulet de Beaucastel, a wine of good pedigree, with deep ruby colour, mineral notes and sweet fruit, but maybe overpriced for this vintage.
All in all, the wine of the Rhone provide good value for money, and the selection of wine presented this night, proved once again, the wisdom of that axiom.
Flight 1
- Château Lamargue Cuvée Aegidiane, 2003, $20.95, 33993
- Domaine de Roquemale Les Terrasses, 2005, $16.95, 42978
- Memoire des Temps Rouge, 2004, $21.95, 41939
- Clos Bagatelle Veillée d’Automne, 2003, $20.95, 41863
Flight 2
- Domaine Mourchon Seguret Côtes du Rhône-Villages Tradition, 2005, $18.95, 915439
- Château du Trignon Sablet Côtes du Rhône-Villages, 2004, $20.95, 33878
- Domaine Grosset Cairanne Côtes du Rhône-Villages, 2004, $17.95, 33852
- Langmeil Three Gardens Shiraz/Grenache/Mouvèdre, 2005, $19.95, 644047
Flight3
- Coudoulet de Beaucastel, 2004, $29.95, 48884
- Tradition le Grand Montmirail Gigondas, 2005, $28.95, 960104
- Domaine du Galet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2004, $45.95, 708164
- Cave de Tain Cornas, 2003, $35.95, 972117
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The National Capital Sommelier Guild strongly supports moderate and responsible consumption of wine and spirits. Guild dinner events allow a designated driver to attend at a reduced price. The designated driver will not be served alcohol. Guild tasting events provide and encourage the use of spit buckets.