2007 Cotes du Rhone Champauvins

Showing more complexity than the Côtes du Rhône Reserve, the 2007 Domaine Grand Veneur Côtes du Rhône Villages Les Champauvins has an earthy, meaty slant with dark fruit, tapenade, roasted herbs and copious stone and iron aromas and flavors. The palate is medium bodied with quality fruit, a smooth texture and plenty of fine grained tannins on the finish. This is an excellent Côtes du Rhône to drink over the next 10 years.

The top Cotes du Rhone, the 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Les Champauvins, is a serious effort that could easily be mistaken for a Chateauneuf du Pape. Sweet black cherry fruit, seaweed wrapper, licorice, pepper, and spice aromas are followed by a wine with a broad, savory mouthfeel, sweet tannin, and a long finish. It should drink well for 4-5 years. ||This is one of the most ambitious estates as well as burgeoning negociant operations in Chateauneuf du Pape. The two Jaume brothers, Sebastien and Christophe, continue to ratchet up the level of quality with a bevy of brilliant Chateauneuf du Papes and for bargain hunters, some top-flight offerings that include generic Cotes du Rhones as well as Cotes du Rhone-Villages. They also produce an impressive Gigondas. The estate wines, bottled under the name Domaine Grand Veneur, include two of the finest white Chateauneuf du Papes of the village (they own 5 acres of white grapes, a relatively large amount when only 3-4% of the appellation's production is in white wine). Wine Advocate.October, 2009