Domaine Grand Nicolet 2006 Cotes du Rhone Villages Vieilles Vignes Rasteau August, 2008 273 Buyers 148 cases in 1 day

The Village of Rasteau Why We Chose It With little relief from the dollar, and mounting demand on the world market, prices for top, small estate Chateauneuf du Pape are skyrocketing. We've spent the last few weeks looking for Chateauneuf look-alikes, wines made in neighboring appellations from old vine Grenache that have the same richness, density and explosive fruit characteristics -- without the $40+ price tag. Two weeks ago, one wine, an old vine Rasteau from Domaine Grand Nicolet blew us away. Not surprisingly, given the massive fruit intensity of the deeply colored, hugely concentrated Grenache, this 2006 had much the same effect on Robert Parker, who wrote, "if this wine were from Chateauneuf du Pape, it would probably sell for two or three times the price," adding, "it probably won't hit its peak for another 2-3 years and last for 15 or more." Today, it's easy for us to forget our checkered history with the Southern Rhone. We'll never forget buying highly touted 1978s and 1979s that fell apart in our cellars just a few years after bottling. The wines, some made by the elite of Chateauneuf, were victims of poor hygiene in the cellar, and a lack of rigor in the vineyards. The real revolution in the region began in the 1990s, sparked by Parker's love affair with a new breed of Chateauneuf du Pape, wines made from old vine, low yielding vineyards picked at optimum ripeness. One man sat at the epicenter of the new breed of Southern Rhone wines. His name is Philippe Cambie, and Parker has compared the impact of Philippe's work in the Rhone to that of Michel Rolland's on Bordeaux's Right Bank. Cambie's client list is smattered with 95 point performers. While most are in Chateauneuf du Pape, he also works with a few carefully chosen estates in the Southern Rhone villages of Rasteau and Cairanne. When Cambie really catches it right, old vine bottlings from these appellations match the explosive fruit qualities and incredible intensity that describe benchmark Chateauneuf. At our tasting last month of 2006 Rhone wines in New York, all we had to do was put our nose in the glass of Domaine Grand Nicolet Rasteau Vieilles Vignes to recognize Cambie's signature. This is a massive wine, 80% of which comes from old vine Grenache planted in the early 1930s. Typical of this super-extracted winemaking style, the wine walks the tightrope between the Southern Rhone and Barossa, with wildly concentrated red fruit aromas and flavors. Only 90 cases of this Chateauneuf look-alike were on the water for the US. After those sold out in four hours we were able to get 50 more from the importer. After those 50 sold out in another few hours we begged for a few more. Act quickly, only a small amount remain. Free shipping on 6 bottles or more. Weather permitting, wine will begin shipping early October 2008. Tasting Notes 2006 Domaine Grand Nicolet Rasteau Vieilles Vignes "A huge step up is the opaque purple-colored 2006 Rasteau Vieilles Vignes. This must be at least 80-85% Grenache and exhibits the dense purple color, chewy, sweet floral fruit of old vine Grenache, with wonderful texture and an almost inky richness as well as tremendous intensity and length. If this wine were from Chateauneuf du Pape, it would probably sell for two or three times the price. It is a brilliant wine that probably won't hit its peak for another 2-3 years and last for 15 or more." 91 points--Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate "Deep purple color, massive, sweet fruit, walking the line between Southern Rhone Grenache and Aussie Shiraz. Extremely dense, sweet red fruit flavors with plenty of backbone to balance the concentration. Drink now for its primary, juicy fruit qualities or age for up to 7 years." --WineAccess, 2008

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