2010 Rasteau la Fontaine, Domaine La Collière
Critics reviews
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 31/10/2011
About this WINE
Domine La Colliere
Southern Rhône Blend
The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.
The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.
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Description
The brilliant 2010 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau La Fontaine is aged in a combination of tank and 600-liter demi-muids. Off the charts concentration and a bigger than life personality characterize this inky/purple-colored Rasteau. Notes of truffles, camphor, chocolate, kirsch, blackberries, roasted meats and bouquet garni emerge from this full-bodied, multidimensional effort. It is one of the finest Rasteaus I tasted on my tour through the southern Rhone Valley. Drink it over the next 15+ years.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 31/10/2011
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