Cru De La Valee Du Rhone – Chateauneuf Du Pape 2007
In the last of current series of wine reviews from Lidl I am tasting a Chateauneuf du Pape. Every year there is a “Historic vintage” from some part of the wine world. 2005 was Bordeaux, 2004 was Tuscany and 2007 was the Rhone Valley and Port. So I was very interested to see how this wine got on.
There is a theory that suggests that in the good years it is very easy make a good wine but it is in the bad years where you really learn about the vineyard, the winemaker and their commitment to quality. With this in mind I was hoping for reasonably good things from the Cru de La Valee.
As by way of introduction the Rhone Region is split into two. The Northern and Southern – as a general rule the Northern Rhone Red are much tighter, tannic and muscular. They are made essentially all from the Syrah grape though some blending with white grapes such as Viognier is allowed. In the Southern Rhone we have much warm, fruity wines due to the introduction of Grenache. The other grape that is most commonly used here is Mourvedre which gives an earthy, forest floor component to the wines. Southern Rhone reds that people tend to be most familiar with are Cote Du Rhones, Gigondas, Vacqueryas and Chateauneuf du Pape.
After all of that how did the wine do – A rub garnet coloured wine with medium colour intensity. I can see my fingers through it. On the nose strawberries, raspberries with a touch of cranberry are the predominant flavours. In the background there are some pepper and floral notes. The wine smells medium bodied with a decent level of richness and a reasonable velvety quality.
On the palate the red fruits come through initially and they are joined by a creamy quality from the oak barrels. There is a nice weight to the wine with solid freshness of fruit levels. Unfortunately for me the finish is quite short and has some bitter tannins. Ordinarily I would think that the bitter tannins would mellow out with aging but this is not a put away wine. So I am afraid that they are just bitter tannins. The wine was medium bodied without massive levels of fruit concentration.
Overall this wine was serviceable at best and if it was closer to €10 the whole thing would sit better with me. However at €14.99 this wine is expensive for what you get and if it was my money I would be shopping around for a really good Cote Du Rhone or a Gigondas/Vacqueyras wine that will deliver a whole lot more for the same money. Chateauneuf du Pape wines are fantastic but due the massively favourable press write ups and global demands the wines of Chateauneuf du Pape tend to be expensive. Wines from the regions that I mentioned above and throw Crozes Hermitage into the mix aswell will deliver vertuially all of the qualities that you are looking for but at a fairer price.
Robertfranciswine – 80 Points
Available from – Lidl Stores Nationwide
Price Bracket – Currently On Special at €14.99 down from €16.99
on July 31st, 2009 1
Your note sounds like a bog standard Cotes Du Rhone, and best avoided at any price over €10. A couple of quick questions, how can a wine smell medium bodied and how can a wine smell velvety? Also, did you try this wine with or without food? Perhaps those bitter tannins would have been more agreeable with a decent stew or something like that?
Around this price range there are too many good wines (Aussie Shiraz, NZ Pinot, Gigondas, Vacqueryas etc..) to be drinking this type of a wine. Sounds like this is the best of a bad lot, and overall would you recommend avoiding the range?
on July 31st, 2009 2
p.s. Good, interesting series of notes. It’s refreshing to see honest scores in between 60-80 given to wines instead of the usual 80-90 point range.
on July 31st, 2009 3
Hey Will
thanks for the great comments on the series and I am delighted that you like it. It was tough work in spots.
While I am sure Lidl wont be to happy with the scores – I have to be totally honest in scoring the wines.
On the aromas of medium bodied and velvety smooth. By smelling medium bodied it smelt more concentration and weighter on the nose then a pinot but didnt have that density of aromas that a massive St Joseph or Cornas would have. Sometimes I find that wine aromas and flavours have different weightings and I try to point that out where this is the case. For example it could be all upfront fruit on the nose and nothing on the palate or vice versea.
With the velvety smooth aromas I am trying to put into words that there is no harshness, bitterness or it doesnt smell out of balance. There was a certain amount of richness and warmth to the nose of the wine. Perhaps I am not quantifying that appropriately when I say velvety smooth on the nose.
The series on the whole was a disappointment especially after there were some finds in the wines the last time.
As regards pricing I totally agree with you at €14.99 that is a chunk of change and a wine really needs to be delivering.Entry level Guigal blows this out of the water and is €2 a bottle cheaper [approx]
Hopefully Lidl will and I can do it again some time.
on February 18th, 2010 4
The Cru de la Vallee du Rhone chateauneauf de pape 2008 is now on offer at Lidl for £7.99 a bottle. Would you recommend we buy at this price. Buying it to serve at a 50th Birthday party