Unfortunately, I was recovering from a bit of a head cold, and had a significantly impaired sense of smell as a result. This was a great disappointment to me, but I still had a very enjoyable evening.
Warm-up Wines
We started the evening with a tasty Italian sparkling wine, NV Livio Pavese Prosecco Extra Dry ($10). This is a festive, lively Italian sparkler with a faint sense of sweetness on the palate. Fun and delicious, it is a very good wine for the price. 11.0% ABV
Scoring System Notes
Tasters ranked every wine in order of preference, giving first place to the wine they like best; ties are not permitted. Each ranking equates to points: 1 point for first, 2 points for second, and so on. The wine with the lowest point total ends up being the winner ... just like in golf. The indication of first-second-last place votes below is simply informational.
Blind Tasting Wines (listed in order of most preferred)
Twelve (12) tasting scoresheets were tallied to determine the ranking of the 10 wines below. (Several tasters gave up along the way, or were simply not in the mood to do any scoring.) This is the largest number of bottles we've ever tackled in a single blind tasting, and it took concentration and stamina to successfully rate all of them. Here are a few observations before we get into the listing of the wines:
- Surprisingly, four of the 10 wines had alcohol content at 14.0% or above, possibly something we would not have seen 10 years ago.
There were some very interesting distinctions amongst the wines, representing the terroir and blending differences between the various villages of the southern Rhone, as well as general quality-price factors.
It is interesting to note that the two wines from the Cairanne village finished 1st & 3rd.
Finally, the three low-priced wines finished at the bottom of the list; they were not bad wines, but they just could not measure up to the quality of the others.
1 ) 2000 Domaine de L'Oratiore St. Martin Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Cairanne ($20): 27 points (8 first, 1 second, 1 last) With 75% of the first place votes, this wine was the easy winner of the evening. It was rich and flavorful, with enough concentrated dark fruit to give a sense of slight sweetness to this dry red wine. Note this was the oldest bottle of wine in the tasting. 13.5% ABV
2 ) 2005 Chateau de Saint Cosme Gigondas ($32): 30 points (2 first, 6 second, 0 last) This was a solid second place finisher, gathering 50% of the second place votes along with two first place votes. This most expensive wine in the lineup came across as the smoothest and most refined wine on the palate. It was beautifully integrated, with a lovely balance of acid and tannin, despite a surprisingly high alcohol level. 14.5% ABV
3 ) 2003 Domaine Brusset Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Cairanne Coteaux des Travers ($15): 47 points (1 first, 3 second, 1 last) Seven voters selected this wine as their #2 or #3 choice, giving it a solid third place finish. It delivered concentrated fruit and spice flavors with nicely balanced alcohol and acidity. 13.0% ABV
4 ) 2004 Perrin & Fils Vinsobres Les Cornuds ($16): 65 points (0 first, 1 second, 0 last) Well distanced from third place, this wine was 1 point from the fifth place finisher. It had good fruit flavors, and went very well with food. Its alcohol content was noticeable on the palate. 14.0% ABV
5 ) 2003 Domaine La Soumade Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Rasteau Cuvee Prestige ($28 ): 66 points (0 first, 0 second, 1 last) This wine finished in almost a numerical tie with the previous one. It had more red fruit flavors, and came across as smooth and somewhat understated, despite a lot of alcohol. 14.5% ABV
6 ) 2004 Domaine De Mourchon Cotes-Du-Rhone Villages Seguret Grande Reserve ($22): 78 points (0 first, 1 second, 0 last) This wine finished 1 point away from the next one. It was dark, had a nice sense of terroir and a bit more tannin than the others. Its primary drawback was the alcohol on the finish. 14.5% ABV
7 ) 2003 Chateau Des Roques Vacqueyras ($18 ): 79 points (0 first, 0 second, 1 last) Although this wine finished in almost a numerical tie with the previous one, it was not very close in quality. It had much lighter body and less fruit, and it felt somewhat out of balance. 13.5% ABV
8 ) 2005 Delas Cotes-du-Ventoux ($10): 82 points (0 first, 0 second, 0 last) This was a tasty but rather simple and lighter-bodied wine; an everyday red table wine. 13.0% ABV
9 ) 2004 J. Vidal-Fleury Cotes-du-Rhone ($12): 92 points (1 first, 0 second, 3 last) This wine showed good fruit and flavor complexity, but it had some trouble standing up to the food. That is rather unusual for this style of wine. 13.0% ABV
10) 2005 Abel Clement Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Vaucluse ($10): 94 points (0 first, 0 second, 5 last) Although this wine received the most last place votes, several people placed it in their top half. It had bright fruit and good acid, making it a decent everyday red table wine. 13.5% ABV
Dessert Wine
We also drank two bottles of the 2006 Cascina Del Santuario Moscato d'Asti ($12) with our dessert. This wine is always a fun and refreshing way to end a tasting or a big meal. 5.5% ABV
-- Clark
