French red wine values tasted in 2004

The selected French bottlings have given me much pleasure for the price. I have purchased them again for personal consumption. Featured values include 3 Rhône rangers.
 

The below wines were tasted in France, in 2004 (between April and December).The tasting notes are listed by increasing prices, with the following format:

Appellation - producer - plot or brand - variety
Vintage - approximate price - general impression - on nose - on palate - after swallowing
 

 Vin-de-pays - Domaine Roger Perrin

Non vintage - 2 € - grape - grape, dries the gum and the palate, fresh

route de Châteauneuf, 84100 Orange, tél : +33 (0) 4 90 34 25 64

 Coteaux-du-languedoc-saint-saturnin - Cave des vignerons de Saint-Saturnin - Lucian

2001 - 3.2 € - I have only tasted it: - a nose dominated by crushed fruit, a pleasant aroma that reminds of wine after fermentation and before bottling - dense, fruity, balanced, dries the palate, herbaceous, a little stiff - the aftertaste is overwhelmed by plant, sustained by alcohol

Auchan

 Vin-de-pays-du-Jardin-de-la-France - Marc Ollivier - Domaine de la Pépière - Côt

2001 - 4 € - the wine is clear and pure, green pepper dominates the flavour - the palate is very slightly offdry, light with a hint of hardness

 Coteaux-varois - Domaine de la Gayolle - Jacques Paul - Orante (80% syrah, 20% grenache)

2000 - 5.3 € - red fruit - supple on entry, the palate is aromatic and balanced

Domaine de la Gayolle, quart Pourchières, route Nationale 7, 83170 Brignoles, tél. +33/4 94 59 10 88

 Vin-de-pays-de-l'Ardèche - Le Mazel - Cuvée C'est Im-Portant

2002 - 6.2 € - served cool (maybe at 14°C), do not decant - formidable on the nose, fruit jelly, blackberry or blackcurrant sorbet, crushed blackberry, a note of smokiness, cherry, ligneous - juicy, cherry, a plant note, dry, fresh like a fruit juice (with a hint of grapefruit) - the wine lingers with blackcurrant and strawberry

 Bourgogne-hautes-côtes-de-nuits - Domaine Patrick Hudelot - (Pinot noir, à la propriété / sans nom de cuvée en grande distribution)

2001 - 7.2 € - a nose of cherry and underbrush: classical Burgundy - rich and flattering on entry (thanks to oak treatment?), onctuous, cherry, dries the palate, ends with a pronounced plant note (maybe due to an incomplete ripeness of grapes) - (to be compared to the same vintage tasted one year earlier)

 Côtes-du-rhône - Domaine La Réméjeanne - Rémy Klein - Les Genévriers - Grenache 50%, syrah 40%, mourvèdre 10%

2000 - 9 € - rather quiet on the nose, with mature fruit and roasting - dense on the palate without a plant note, velvety, delicate aromas of liquorice, blackcurrant and prune, the balance is well made thanks to a nice acidity

Sabran, +33 (0) 4 66 89 44 51

 Morey-st-denis - Dominique Laurent - 1er cru Les Monts luisants

1997 - 48 € - this sublime wine does not require ageing any more, it shows both fruit and nerve - a harmonious bouquet of flower, earth, and red berry - the liquid is very intense in the mouth, with red berry, fur, and freshness

Village, 21220 L'Étang Vergy, tél. +33 (0) 3 80 61 49 94

This article is completed by a primer on organizing wine tasting parties.