Selection Laurence Feraud, Cotes du Rhone, France

勞倫斯費(fèi)羅德之選紅葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：6098

Still in the market, the delicious 2016 Cotes du Rhone boasts effusive scents of dusty earth and leather over a bed of ripe cherries. It's medium to full-bodied, with supple tannins, a slightly silky mouthfeel and plenty of sweet-tasting fruit on the finish. Drink it over the next few years.

A super bargain from Laurence Feraud, the 2010 Cotes du Rhone (finished with a screw cap closure) exhibits a healthy deep ruby hue along with copious amounts of black cherry fruit, lavender and Provencal spices. Medium-bodied, fruity and elegant with impressive purity, it should be drunk over the next year. One of the bastions of traditionalism in Chateauneuf du Pape is Domaine de Pegau, long owned by the Feraud family, and now run by the charming, talented Laurence, who was exceptionally well-schooled by her father, Paul. This nearly 50-acre estate fashions some of the longest-lived, most interesting wines of the appellation. The success they have enjoyed with their estate wines has allowed the Ferauds to branch out with a small negociant operation that includes selections Laurence makes through her contacts in the southern Rhone as well as wines she co-producers with another Chateauneuf du Pape name well-known for high quality, Andre Brunel.Importers: Dan Kravitz, Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347-9400; Martine’s Wine, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400; and J & R Selections, Lansing, MI; tel. (517) 393-4441

The most interesting may be the 2009 Cotes du Rhone, a blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah. A big, beefy Cotes du Rhone with abundant notes of grilled herbs, beef blood, black currants, sweet kirsch, plums and Asian spices, it possesses lovely fruit, medium body, outstanding ripeness as well as texture and a heady finish. Drink it over the next 2-4 years. Always one of my favorite places to visit, Laurence Feraud and her father, Paul (a speed fanatic who raced in on a motorcycle during my visit), conducted a fascinating tasting in their cellars. As value hunters know, several of the low end offerings here are wonderful expressions of Provence that deserve to be taken seriously. Under the family’s negociant label, Selection Laurence Feraud, there are some noteworthy efforts that are well worth checking out. As for the Domaine du Pegau estate wines, I had not yet tasted the 2007 Cuvee Reservee or 2007 Cuvee da Capo from bottle, and when I did, they lived up to all my previous accolades. Here are some in-the-bottle reports on recent vintages of Domaine du Pegau’s Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reservee, Cuvee Laurence and Cuvee da Capo. I have been buying the Cuvee Reservees since 1979 and the greatest examples include the 1981, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 2003 and the 2007. Not that the other offerings are not high quality, but as Shakespeare said, “Comparisons are odious.”Importers: Dan Kravitz, Hand Picked Selections, Warrenton, VA; tel. (540) 347-9400; Martine’s Wine, Novato, CA; tel. (415) 883-0400; and J & R Selections, Lansing, MI; tel. (517) 393-4441

This chunky Cotes du Rhone blends 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache to yield deep notes of black cherries, dark chocolate and new leather, finishing long and fruit driven. Drink now–2015. ——J.C.(8/1/2011)—— 88