2019 Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone 'Les Champauvins'

2022 was the year of the Cotes du Rhone at PRIMA!  It seems like everything we tried from either 2018 or 2019 was either delicious, well-priced or both!  It was really hard to pick a favorite but, after much debate, one really did rise to the top!  And it really wasn’t that close.  Tons of sex appeal and one of the best value in the entire Cotes du Rhone? Sign me up!  Located across the cart path from Le Coudelet and a stone’s throw from Chateau de Beaucastel, the totally unique terroir called Les Champauvins is in that neither-here-nor-there territory that qualifies neither as Chateauneuf du Pape (as it rightly should) nor even Cotes du Rhone Villages and, hence, can only be sold as simple Cotes du Rhone for a small percentage of what it’s probably worth.  Made from organically grown grapes, this juicy, very aromatic red is fashioned from around 70% Grenache Noir (the source of the wine’s substantial body and suppleness), 20% Syrah (its gorgeous color, rich tannins and aromatic lift) and 10% Mourvedre (its hints of pepper, dried blueberry and touch of earthy rusticity).  It sees the same cellaring regimen as Grand Veneur’s stunning Chateauneuf du Pape, about 14 months aging, the Grenache in concrete tank and the Syrah and Mourvedre in older oak barrels.  With all the ripe fruit and panache one would expect from the exciting 2018 vintage, it’s an absolutely delicious example of everything we love about southern Rhone wines- the pretty aromatics, the juicy, easy-to-love texture and that satisfying snappy finish.