Cotes du Rhone 2019 Les Deux Albion - St Cosme

Cotes du Rhone 2019 Les Deux Albion - St Cosme

91/100 Wine Spectator

Tasted Dec. 31, 2021 by James Molesworth: "Juicy and fresh, with notes of plum and blackberry compote supported by flavors of violets, black licorice and wood spice. This wine has energy and grit all the way through to the end. Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Clairette. Drink now through 2024."

Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre co-fermented. Whole harvest. Vatting period of six weeks. Slopes of clay (ancient alluvium), marl, limestone and pebbles.

The winemaker tells you: 

"Aged in wooden vats (truncated) and in concrete tanks. Recently, we tasted some old bottles of Deux Albion at the estate: 1999, 2008, 2010, 2011 and others. These are always amazing tastings that demonstrate the ageing potential of Rhone Valley wines. Deux Albions is the soul of the traditional classic Rhone; it is a tribute to what old vines can give; it is quality in simplicity. In its youth, Deux Albions expresses fruit, smells of peony and violet, in a most friendly roundness. Then, the mineral takes over slowly, refining the whole, expressing the limestone. The wine then approaches a little our Gigondas, without ever reaching their finesse: to the impossible no one is held. All this raises the question of the wine's ageing capacity relative to its price. It is commonly accepted that "affordable" wines are not made to age and I wonder why!

On the other hand, how many expensive and supposedly prestigious wines have disappointed us when we opened them at the moment that was supposed to be their optimum? Sometimes you have to listen to yourself, trust your own taste and your own experiences without listening to what others say or write. Strawberry, gingerbread, violet. Bottled without filtration".

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