Colour: Red
Country: France
Region: Cotes-du-Rhone
Year: 2007
Producer: Maison Gabriel Meffre
Grape Varieties: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre
Alcohol: 14%
Purchase Price: £5 (ASDA)
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Notes:
IWSC 2008 SILVER. QUALITY AWARD.
IWSC 2008 SILVER. QUALITY AWARD.
Maker's tasting notes – The name La Châsse Du Pape is derived from the historic chest that contained the great reliquaries of the Popes who lived in Avignon during the 14th century. La Châsse Du Pape Réserve is sourced from the finest southern Côtes Du Rhône vineyards. Our winemakers carefully select the noble grapes Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Cinsault to achieve the best expression of this classic Appellation. La Châsse Du Pape Réserve is a full bodied, round and harmonious wine with delicate hints of spices and vanilla, thanks to ageing of the Syrah in oak barrels.
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Somnambulist's verdict: Another bargain cracker – decant this one and let it breathe for an hour or so to get the most out of this lovely smooth, yet spicey blend. I’d be very hard pushed to differentiate it from Chateauneufs 2 or 3 times this price, even side by side. I’ve also seen this at much higher prices at other supermarkets and wine stores, so if there’s an Asda near you go and put a few in the trolley. Alternatively use their home delivery service, which I found infinitely better than Sainsbury’s.
Agreed - a really good wine for the price. My bottle was 14%, though.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by!
I've read some reviews on this wine recently that have criticised it for being 'not as good as a Chateauneuf-du-pape'. This is generally, true (although I'd argue that I've had some very ropey £10 Chateauneufs), but then it's not as good as a 1982 Cheval Blanc either. This of course totally misses the point that it's great value for money at a fiver. I still buy it regularly!
Thanks for the pointer on the alcohol content. My bottles are 14% too... I'd obviously missed the change and have dutifully amended :-)