#379 Blind Rhone (and Rhone-esque)

Three Cotes du Rhone wines from 2009 and a Rhone-Ranger from California that was a year older.  All in the same £10-£15 price point, and all blind.  This is what I found out.

Wine 1
Light cherries, a bit of spice coming off and a lovely bright fruit aroma.  There is a little raspberry followed by some menthol and leather and mint.  A little Ribena comes off as well.  The palate is nicely full, some spice on the front with a black pepper meets rosemary, tar and tobacco.  There is a woody element coming through, some very dark pepper - cumin too.  I like this. 89pts

Wine 2
Quite closed, a muted cassis and sour cherries with some up front menthol aromas and a bit of raw beef.  The palate is quite savoury, lots of dark pepper, vegetal flavours and a bundle of alcohol coming off the nose.  Very big, lots of acid cleaning out your mouth.  A spice too goes on in the finish.  Very old worldy, but just very savoury and dark with little complexity.  84pts

Wine 3
Very sweet aromal, lots of very bright cherries and a lot, lot, lot of raspberry.  There is a menthol aroma too, but it is very confected.  The palate too is sweet, nice though, with good juicy raspberry & cherry and then some rather tasty leather, dried fruit and a bit of imbalance on the finish, but not overly so.  It is just juicy.  86pts

Wine 4
Very stinky, a bit of poop and then some cherry stalks, a tiny amount of white chocolate and then some meaty elements.  A very gutsy palate, nice vegetal elements and then a bundle of spice comes through.  There is an alcohol spike, followed by lots of liquorice, aniseed ball coating galore, and a dry, savoury finish with some cherry stones too.  It is a really tasty wine, and proper a proper Rhone wine. 90pts

Wine 1 - 2009 Domaine la Boutiniere Cotes du Rhone Le Fabuleaux destin d'Amelie Boutin £13.49, Southern Rhone.  My first time trying this producer, and I'm impressed.
Wine 2 - 2009 Jean Louis Chave Selection Cotes du Rhone Mon Coeur £13.50, Northern Rhone.  The 2008 was a good vintage of this wine, maybe this is just too closed at the moment.
Wine 3 - 2008 Morgan Cotes du Crow's Syrah, Grenache £15.00, California.  A good wine, very Californian in style, but a good introduction wine to Rhone varietals, albeit from the USA.
Wine 4 - 2009 Rhone by Roger Sabon Cotes du Rhone £13.50, Southern Rhone.  A favourite of mine, and this new vintage continues the trend of outstanding wines from Roger Sabon.