This is marvelous ripe sweet fruit. This 2007 unoaked mix is lush, sweet middle palate, reasonable length, easy mouth - not furry at all.

Very very gluggable, quite light actually, ready.

40% grenache 40% Syrah. The syrah is properly there - Nice

So serving to your mates ? - Show then the bottle but not the price - Splosh into a carrafe and leave for an hour in the pantry (above cellar temperature, but not hot sitting room). Now, things begin to grow.......

.....Wild blackberry nose, with a not too spirity niff, Ok 14% - but with a full fruit cup style, it is grown-up without being hot.

Good as an apperatif as well, Very nice with Veggie cheezy pizza and with riccotta and spinach filo pastries.

Hmmnn - Sweet ground multi coloured pepper corns, dark ripe mulberries that have fallen from the tree, a tiny aluminium note from the grenache, but only tiny.

I really like this, it is fresh as well as quenching.

No oak, so don't leave for much more than two years in the rack.

For me this will be perfect in October 2010. However if you glug every day, a six pack will be gone by the end of the month.

For £4.49 Marvellous
For £5.99 Very good deal
For £8.99 Still loads better than dried out old boots CdR's (which are trying to be what they're NOT)

Those who want 1980's gum numbing, bitter bretted mouldy barrel, old walking boots CdR wont appreciate this.

Oh dear, I nearly forgot job done.

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Duncan

Duncan,

Will prob crack one tonight to check !!

_________________
He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions.

I'm tempted too now. Was trying to decide what to have with my Shepherds pie

I thank you.

I thank you.

Yeah, may be I deserve a load of sh*te. Hey GK, wasn't it you who allerted me to this '07, and now you ain't got ...............

Ok .....Bring it on.


Bonpas '07 is quite nice, just finished the 1st bottle

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Duncan

I tried it last night - just the one glass with dinner and a small taster after to try and get an opinion.

tbf, its a nice enough glugger: Fresh and fruity
Didn't find it had much length on the finish tho - went a bit watery

I know very little about wines from Rhone so can't really say how it compares.
2 things I do now know: I prefer my reds with oak and I'm not a massive fan of grenache.

Will give this another go tonight but I'd have felt a little hard done by spending 8.99 on this.

Moment of controversy here: Is this really any better than St Hallets Gamekeeper ? hmmmmm...

Yeah, sorry Shezza, I thought you looked up the spec for that Rhone mix.
I know, that is why I said that the Syrah was quite evident for a CdR. More grenache and you may have been unhappy. Some oak would have nursed more depth into the grenache 40% Syrah 40%.
Shezz you didn't no it was unoaked from the link that were put up ? sometimes the link to quick blogs are short on real info
I wrote the note
a) for the dosh that we paid 4.5 quid
b) to compare the wine versus £8.99 at today's retail prices. Today quality has massively improved at the bottom end. There were in the ole days some shocker CdR's out there for £6, when six quid was money !

This is good glugging south Rhone, make no mistake. Decanter gave it 4 stars for £8.99 which is a bit OTT - But, that fruit is good, and, as long as you have not bought half a dozen what Have You to Loose , you can always return any spares that you dont want.
BTW, next day the mouth feel is more coating, and the body and integration of flavours grows quite nicely. See what you think this evening. That's why I said October 2010 onwards for me, and it will be "a point" house Rhone.

As you know, I'm an old'un, so when I find a good quaffing CdR for less than a fiver I'm very satisfied. CdR is a typical frenchmans vin ordinaire in that part of the country, a satisfying house wine, and when it is fresh and fruity and well made, with a little pepper or spice, that's all I really want and expect.

Last Night, If a really meaty and rich Shepherds pie, it may have been too much for this wine - That is why I said "It is quite light actually".

Really sorry mate - I didn't think that anyone was paying 9 quid a bottle at the mo.

On the Gamekeepers - I have no idea. My palate for vin ordinaire is still firmly anchored in France - I'm just not keen on these well extracted or turbo charged wines, unless they are old time Penfolds, Fab Mondavi Napa cab reserve, Chateau Tahbilk old vine shiraz - Berringer reserve, Montes Alpha 15 years ago - Well - you know what I mean. Wolf Blass president cab is OK, but it never quite hits the spot at £12 quid and I have to store for five years to overcome the furry mouth and find mint or cassis notes.

I need to get out more.

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Duncan

My brain 'urts now...I'm going outside...could be a long time...

fear not mate...

I knew exactly what I was getting myself into here.
Was fully aware of the unoaked Grenache/Shiraz blend and wanted to see if it was something I could get a liking for.

Like I mentioned it is certainly not offensive and think this would be good for summer evening & BBQ drinking.


I managed to pick up my bottles at the 4.49 bargain price so feel far from hard done by.
Just know it wouldn't be my first port of call in future and I'd stay well and truely steer clear at 8.99

When you come back in, I'll be gone => sigh of releif from Mr Ba.

Might look in later for one of your specials

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Duncan

...or two...lots from which to choose from this afternoon.

Waitrose 6 - 6 Tesco (replay nex t week)

Day 2 and no real further developments
This is definately one for summers evening

The Mrs is a fan.. I've switched over to Martin Codex to go with my fish n chips

Excellent choice. You could have tried it with some salt ON your f + c (damn, didn't say that, I'm schtumm on reds).

Ah ha - The Mrs, so good eh !

There is a lot of bottle variance,

My dear Misses found one more '007 when out shopping on Friday evening and rung me on the mobile. I decided to have it at £6 and it was different again.
More syrah, fuller and darker. Really delicious. But you can't give strars all over the place when bottle variance is involved.

Slight differences in specific gravity for each variety and each parcel in the tanks and blending errors in the final cuvee must be involved.

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Duncan

But you can't give strars all over the place when bottle variance is involved.

Some of us can.

I'll shut up now.