If you’ve been holding off on buying 2005 Bordeaux, first of all where have you been?  But more importantly, now is your chance to buy a highly rated ’05 for under $30.  I bought this wine as a future for around $40 on the recommendation of a friend who is a big Bordeaux collector.  I felt good about that price given the 93 point Robert Parker rating, but at under $30 I would have bought much more.  There is not much 2005 Bordeaux left on the market and with 2009 looking like the next “all star” vintage, buy up on this great value to drink for the four years you’ll have to wait for the 2009 to mature.  I’ll open my first in three or four years.

Robert Parker 93 points

“La Vieille Cure’s amazing 2005 is even better than their terrific 2003 and 2000. The 2005 boasts an inky/ruby color as well as a gorgeously sweet perfume of charcoal, black cherries, black currants, and spring flowers as well as an underlying mineral component. Superb concentration, full-bodied power, wonderful symmetry, purity, and texture, and a multidimensional mouthfeel are all found in this fabulous sleeper of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020+”

Chateau La Vielle Cure $29.95

Memorial Day weekend started early for us today (okay really early), with an awesome Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  Much has been said about second wines on these pages. Telegramme is the second wine from Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe- one of the most famous wineries from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CdP) appellation of the southern Rhone Valley.  The top wine, “La Crau”, was rated 96 points by Robert Parker in this 2007 vintage.  2007, by the way, has been widely reviewed as one of the best southern Rhone vintages of all time.

Telegramme pours a slightly translucent ruby with an ever-so-slight brick tinge.  The nose hints of good things to come with fantastic red raspberry and dessert scents that remind me of warm apple pie with cinnamon and a hint of smoke.  The fruit theme continues as the wine tastes exceptionally smooth, with tart cherry flavors and a mineral finish, making it clear that this wine came from a top vineyard.

Speaking of vineyards, this wine is made from the same grapes as Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe’s $70 example- just the “young” vines.  Young in this case average 25 years old, which by new world standards is almost ancient.

If you are looking for an elegant, classic, well made CdP, buy this before the 2007 vintage is gone.  I’ve found something else to enjoy about this wine with every sip and, to me, that’s the true definition of a great wine.

P.S. LA Wine Co has the lowest price in the country.  Again…

Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe “Telegramme”- $29.95

90 points- WA, IWC and WS

“A fresh, pure, silky style, with red currant, licorice and shiso leaf notes gliding over the long, supple, minerally finish. Textbook for the vintage, with the fruit and minerality stretching out at the end. Drink now through 2017. 4,000 cases made.” (WS)

“The outstanding 2007 Telegramme Chateauneuf du Pape (15.8% alcohol) offers notes of kirsch liqueur, spring flowers, and framboise, medium to full body, good acidity, a beautiful texture, and a luscious, heady finish. It is best drunk over the next 5-6 years.” (WA)

“Deep red. Captivating aromas of black raspberry, wild rose, Asian spices and smoked meat. Brighter red fruits on the palate, with notes of cola and candied flowers gaining strength with air. Showing more depth, richness and warmth than last year. Finishes with very good grip and an echo of smoke.” (IWC)

2007 has been an amazing year for Rhone reds and here is the great thing about the best vintages: they turn traditional “great values” into knockout classics.  70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, this wine pours a deep opaque purple/red color that suggests good things are to come, and it doesn’t disappoint.

At first, I thought the nose was a little closed with a touch too much alcohol, but after an hour in a decanter it totally changed, showing a great peppery scent framed by ripe fruit and nice smokey overtones.  This wine tastes dense and bold, if a little rustic, without being overblown.  What differentiates old world Rhone from many of the new world Rhone blends is they show a great constraint and clarity while still being aggressive, concentrated, bold and lengthy.

This wine will only get better with age (the same reason it improved throughout the evening).  I’m going to put a few back and try it again in five years.  I think it will gain a significant complexity which will only serve to build on the great wine it already is. It’s my birthday today and I look forward to opening another bottle on April 8, 2015, if not before!  Under $20 for a potential RP 93 Cotes du Rhone-Villages?  Amazing.

Robert Parker 91-93 Points

“The 2007 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Rasteau La Ponce (70% Grenache and 30% Syrah) reveals a smoky, chocolaty, meaty character as well as abundant quantities of black cherry jam displayed in a full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, dense, chewy style that saturates the palate. The vintage’s greatness is noticeable in the noble, ripe tannins and stunning length. This serious wine should age for 10-15 years.

Readers should be on the lookout for the wines from this superb estate. None other than the brilliant southern Rhone oenologist Philippe Cambie is the consultant at Domaine des Escarvailles, and their 2006s were profiled with considerable accolades in issue #178′s report on the World’s Greatest Wine Values. The 2007s are the finest wines yet produced at this estate. Proprietor Gilles Farran owns some sensational old vines spread among his 160+ acres in the Cotes du Rhone and the Cotes du Rhone-Villages of Rasteau, Cairanne, and Roaix. Yields are low, with most of the vineyards rendering less than 30 hectoliters per hectare. Don’t forget about the extraordinary, bargain-priced Cotes du Rhone reviewed in issue #178, Domaine Calendal, which is a joint project of Philippe Cambie and proprietor Giles Farran” (WA)

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Cotes-du-Rhone Rasteau La Ponce- LA Wine Company $18.85