I used a recent party as an excuse to line up a number of relatively inexpensive drinkers and see what it was like to taste them side by side. Prices ranged from $7 for the Castaño to ~$17 for the Escaravailles Hautes des Granges and La Ponce.  Despite labeling these as daily drinkers, they’re all fantastic wines worth every penny.

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix)
Very ripe and jammy, the 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges possesses fantastic aromatics of blackberry and cassis fruit, spice, earth, chocolate and minerals leading into a blockbuster palate. Full bodied, ripe, rich and with a stunning texture, this saturates the palate with fruit and has plenty of fine grained tannins adding length and edge to the finish. (93 pts.)

2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau)
Showing a slightly brighter profile than a previous bottle, the 2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce (80% Grenache from 80 year old vines and 20% Syrah from 35 year old vines, 100% destemmed) is stacked with black cherry, earth and mineral aromas. With air, it continues to gain richness and has a subtle gamey, duck fat undertone. The palate is fantastic with medium to full body, rich fruit, a full, mouth coating texture and long finish. Drink this beauty over the next 10 to 12 years. (91 pts.)

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Le Ventabren (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne)
Bright, crisp and perfumed, the 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Le Ventabren is filled with black cherry and raspberry fruit, smoky minerals, leather and funky earth aromas. Medium to full bodied on the palate, this show beautiful precision, purity and length. Despite the ripeness, this has solid structure and plenty of fine grained tannins on the finish. Drink over the next 10 to 12 years. (91 pts.)

2007 Domaine La Garrigue Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône)
Rustic and burly, the 2007 Domaine La Garrigue Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine exhibits notes of blackberry and raspberry fruit, grilled meat, smoked herbs, garrigue and leather nuances. Medium to full bodied, this has stunning fruit, a rich, savory, texture and a tannic, long finish. Does best with lots of air and should drink well for 10+ years. (92 pts.)

2007 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell Yecla (Spain, Murcia, Yecla)
The screw cap bottled 2007 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell Yecla offers up beautiful and bright aromatics of spiced blackberries, meat and lots of bramble and underbrush notes. Medium to full bodied on the palate, this has ripe, rich fruit, a soft texture and a long finish. (89 pts.)

2007 Bodegas Olivares Monastrell Altos de la Hoya Finca Hoya De Santa Ana (Spain, Murcia, Jumilla)
The stunning 2007 Bodegas Olivares Monastrell Altos de la Hoya Finca Hoya De Santa Ana is a 100% Monastrell selection from the Hoya de Santa Ana vineyard and sees a minimum of 6 months in french barrels. It has big, rich aromatics of spicy dark fruit, underbrush and loamy earth that lead into a full bodied, rich and balanced palate. I don’t know how this will age but it’s a fantastic drink now and sells for a song. (90 pts.)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 13th, 2009 at 8:45 pm and is filed under Random Notes, tasting notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.