Domaine de la Soleïade Vacqueyras 2007, Cru Des Côtes du Rhône

What's going on in this title, right?  Let me break it down for you: Domaine de la Soleïade is a cuvée (a blend) of a French wine co-op in the Southern Rhône Valley, the Vignerons de Caractere.  The Rhône Valley is a region in France, with the basic wine produced there being called a Côtes du Rhône.  The wine a "step above" that is a Cru des Côtes du Rhône.  Meaning it's supposed to be pretty tasty.  Vacqueyras is a region WITHIN the Rhône Valley.  The French are very complicated with this stuff.  The grapes that make up this Cru des Côtes du Rhône are the Grenache grape and the Syrah grape. 


Whew.  Now that's over and we can get to the good part.  So I spontaneously bought this wine at Whole Foods after reading about Vacqueyras in my newest wine book purchase.  Mom and I sat down with our new stemless glasses on Christmas Eve to sample it.  The nose on this is fruity, jammy, and slightly acidic.  Very pleasant, though.  We both took our first sips, and as per usual, we had different opinions.  I held it in my mouth for a second, and found myself noticing its acidity in the mouthfeel.  The kind of acidity, almost like in a citrus fruit, that makes you kind of salivate.  This is a wine to be paired with food to balance that out, in my opinion, at least when you first open it.  It's a thin and silky type of wine with low tannins.  Mom liked it a lot, right from the get go.  But she loves whites and Pinot Noirs, so, not too unexpected.   I appreciated this wine actually much more the next day.  The berry and deeper fruit elements really came into their own after some hours exposed to air.  I'd say this thing needs some time in a glass before it really hits its peak.

Technical Info:

Varietal: 55% Grenache, 45% Syrah 

Alcohol: 14% - but it doesn't taste that high!

Origin: 

Vacqueyras, 

Côtes du Rhône, France

Price: $14.99 at Whole Foods

Rachel's Grade: B   This is a wine that wine snobs would say is a GREAT value, being that it's a Cru Des Côtes du Rhône, and those are usually $20+, but I disagree.  It's fine, it's sort of interesting, especially if you're into French wine, and some people are!  It's thin and light like a 

Vacqueyras should be

, but not elegant enough to make it great.  I personally prefer any vintage of Jaboulet 

Côtes du Rhône Parallele 45 if I'm in a French mood.