Rhone Wines That Blend In

The current price-quality-ratio in the southern Rhone is one of the best in the business with particular emphasis on the quality side. Most everyone in the wine business (and you can add fine dining restaurants to the list) are anxiously awaiting the return of the pre-recession wine buyer but as I said at the start of the year that buyer is not coming back anytime soon.

Wine drinkers are headed en masse to wines several dollars below what they have been drinking and that phenomenon will undoubtedly reshape every price category in the business.

For French wine, it could mean a switch from ultra-expensive classed growth Bordeaux or Grand Cru Burgundy to the top Rhone appellations such as Hermitage, Cornas, or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Or in the case of today's column, a switch from the aforementioned famous northern Rhone appellations for one or more of the lesser, or minor, southern sub-appellations.

Today's picks reflect the new reality and the fierce competition wineries now face for your business. The good news for consumers is price. It appears the wines are 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than they were at the height of the madness. That satisfies the price part of the ratio but to make it even more attractive wine production in 2010 is light years ahead of what was happening in 1995 pointing to a significant increase in quality.

All that spells big value, that by the way should not be ignored by t any of the current value category leaders such as Chile, South Africa and more recently Argentina, who need to continue to up their game to stay relevant.

None of today's labels are single grape (varietal) wines, another pending firestorm for producers of varietal who by virtue of their single grape moniker are forced to compete mostly on price with every other similarly tagged bottle from around the world, be it great or junk.

Naturally-made wines from somewhere (a well-documented appellation or origin) produced by a person (a family-owned business with a hands-on winemaker and viticulturalist) are the future and the ancient Rhone Valley region is perfectly-positioned to lead the charge in what is a whole new beginning for wine.

Who knows maybe we will finally head down the road Robert Mondavi envisioned so many years ago when he worked to establish wine as part of a gracious way of everyday living in America. The first step is drinking real wine as in wine made by someone, from somewhere.

The white wines of the Rhone have been long smothered by New World chardonnay and sauvignon blanc but when you taste the Louis Bernard Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2008 and its floral, spicy, chalky, mineral aromas you may consider switching your mid-week dinner white. We love the fresh, elegant, simple palate and its spicy, pear skin, lemon, floral, chalky, peach skin flavours. Good solid value in a current drinking white that reflects its origins.

An exceptional harvest benefits all the wines of a region and the latest Chat-en-Oeuf Côtes du Ventoux Grenache - Syrah 2007 is no exception. The nose is fresh and open with floral, mineral, red fruit notes flecked with pepper and liquorice. The palate is soft and round with more ripe raspberry, liquorice and mineral. A solid, affordable everyday red for mushroom pasta dishes, or short ribs. Good value.

The bookend red, Louis Bernard Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2008, is a blend of grenache, syrah and mourvèdre, and a fine follow up to the '07. This edition has a bit more acidity but it is still a seriously good value. Love the peppery, smoky, liquorice nose with bits of black fruit and the smooth-ish if a bit piquant mid-palate. Fine flavour concentration and weight for the money.

Its better days for Jaboulet Parallèle 45 Côtes du Rhône 2006, one of the original Rhone wines to use a fantasy name "Parallèle 45" to enhance the brand and make the label friendlier and memorable. The blend is syrah and grenache, the style elegant, the flavours a fresh mix of smoky, spicy, peppery, black raspberry, tobacco, garrigue flavours. A solid dinner wine with fresh acidity.

Dry farmed and in conversion to 100 per cent organic, the Perrin Vacqueyras Les Christins 2006 mixes grenache, syrah, mourvèdre and cinsault .There is nothing shy about this powerful village red whose aromas are floral with spicy red fruits and liquorice notes. The palate a similar mix of earthy, woodsy/coriander fruit, spiked with black raspberry swirls. It will need another year or two in the cellar, or serve it now with roasted or grilled meats.

Our final picks takes us further south in l'Hérault, in the Languedoc region. Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Red 2007 is a mix of syrah, grenache, carignan and cinsault from the same folks who make the unofficial cru of Languedoc Mas de Daumas Gassac. Look for a dry, round, elegant red with lively black raspberry/plum fruit and orange, stony, mineral, liquorice floral flavours. It is a bit tart on the finish but it's made for rich dishes. Well done and an affordable. The grapes are organically grown.