TN: J.Vidal-Fleury Cotes du Rhone '88..(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

Tried this last night as a throw-away wine w/ my HeirloomTomatoe Salad:

  1. J.Vidal-Fleury AC: Cotes du Rhone (12.5%) Ampuis 1988: Med.color w/ some browning; really lovely NRhone/smokey/roasted/coffee slight smokey/oak very complex classic NRhone nose; tart rather tired/dried out/astringent/bitter some smokey/NRhone/roasted/coffee/espresso quite complex flavor; very long complex/NRhone/coffee/roasted/smokey/pungent some tannic/dried out/astringent/bitter finish; speaks loud & clear of an old NorthernRhone Syrah; a 25 yr old CdR in this good a shape is crazy/nutso; really lovely nose but drying out on the palate. $8.90 (A)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. This wine was from back in the days that V-F was owned by ??. The wnry has been in operation since 1791 as I recall (nope…did not follow it from the very start). It was purchased by Guigal some yrs ago. My impression is that the wines are not of the stature they had back in the '80’s.
    I was expecting this wine to be totally shot. It was not. It clearly is a Syrah from the NorthernRhone…probably from StJoseph I would guess.
  1. Heirloom Tomatoes: Are a fraud. They’re big (often) and ugly and are weird colors. But they are no better than those hot-house tomatoes that come in a cellophane-topped box at the grocery store (are…at least…used to). Totally devoid of flavor and usually rather watery. At least the ones I’ve been buying at WholeFoods. Raised in Calif or Arizona, sometimes in NewMexico. But they far inferior to the BigBoys & LittleGiirls that TomLopez raises. Now those have some flavor & juciness.
    The Bubulis Burrata and fresh basil are all that saved this salad.
    Tom
2

Thanks for that retrospective, Tom.

FYI – I don’t recall the pre-Guigal wines being noteworthy. At least not what was available in California at the time. And I was buying a lot of Rhones in the 80s.

3

Guigal purchased it in 1984, and the vineyard now known as La Turqúe was a big reason to add it to Guigal’ stable of Cote Roties.

The wines are much better now that they have a new winery and the bretty cellar issues have been addressed. The CdR, CdR Blanc @ 100% Viognier, and the Ventoux are all good values. The Cote Rotie Chatillonne was always a favorite of mine as it abuts La Mouline and has a heavy dose of Viognier co-ferment.

*our competitor sells these wines.

4

I really liked the 2009 and 2010 CdR which Trader Joe’s was selling for around $7. They are more rustic and not as lush as the Guigal. I thought they had a lot of character for not very much $$$.

5

The Guigal is now typically 50+% syrah (see their web site), so it’s not a typical CdR at all.

6

I like the '07 CdR. Still have a bottle or 2 I got for $7.99. Should drink well for a few years, maybe longer.