With the hyped 2007 vintage still on the shelves, the 2008 Rhone vintage is starting to hit the market and, in a less hyped vintage, there are often some serious values to be had.  The latest vintage of Domaine Paul Autard Cotes-du-Rhone Rogue might just prove to be the best value of the vintage. There’s just a special pleasure about drinking a great tasting wine for under $10.  In some respects it can be more fun than drinking a $100 bottle because it’s all pleasure with no pain.  That is unless someone else is paying for that $100 bottle of course.

The 2008 Domaine Paul Autard is juicy, smooth and delicious.  The 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Counoise blend has a nose of rock candy followed up by the signature Rhone pepper.  It tastes juicy with nice cherry flavors and a surprisingly lengthy, focused finish.  This wine is aged in vats rather than barrels, so there is no oak to distract from the pure fruit.

Vintner Jean-Paul Autard (how’s that for a French name?) makes an $85 Chateauneuf-du-Pape and, while this might not be of that pedigree, the winemaking skill shows through.  Until further notice, this will be my house Rhone- guilt free!

Buy Here: Domaine Paul Autard Cotes-du-Rhone Rogue $9.95

Wine Spectator- 88 points

“This has good ripeness for the vintage, with juicy plum and blackberry fruit laced with mesquite and graphite notes. Fine length. Drink now. 4,000 cases made.” (WS)

This is another one of those under-the-radar bargains that you can only find by tasting hundreds of wines a month like LA Wine Company does.  We’ve talked a lot about large labels that make perennial values but because of those labels’ popularity, they are rarely outright steals.  Well, the 2007 Muirwood Syrah is.

What is it with Monterey producing these proprietor grown deals (remember the San Simeon Chardonnay)?  Syrah really excels in cool climate appellations like Monterey, Santa Barbara County and Sonoma.  This particular Syrah has a forward ripe nose followed by a great cocoa on the palate and a touch of spiciness on the finish.  The grapes come predominately from a single vineyard and it shows a definite complexity that wines coming from many vineyards in numerous appellations just can’t.

It’s officially summer barbecue season and I guarantee a case of this wouldn’t go to waste.  The best part is, when your friends (and your friends’ friends) come over and drink all of your wine, you don’t have to feel bad because this is only $7.99 a bottle!

Update: Now that this has been open for a few hours it’s opened up really nicely and really moved up a notch.  It’s super chocolaty and delicious!

Buy it Here: 2007 Muirwood Syrah Monterey- $7.99

Have you ever thought a full bottle of wine is just too much and you’d rather just have a half bottle?  Neither have I!

All joking aside, a half bottle of wine comes in handy more often than you might think.   Take tonight for example: We had a third of a bottle of the Vina Robles Huerhuero Vineyard Cabernet left over from earlier in the week.  Clearly a third of a bottle isn’t enough for both of us, but when you add a half bottle, it’s perfect!  We enjoyed it with an awesome homemade heirloom cherry tomato margarita pizza!

The Qupe Cellars 2007 Syrah is a perfect daily drinker.  If I had tasted this blind I would have said it was Grenache, of which it’s only 2%.  That’s not to say it’s weak or light, just that it’s not as inky or thick as typical California Syrah.  Very reminiscent of nice Rhone wine.  This is a medium bodied wine with great mineral and floral scents on the nose.  The taste is very juicy with a nice acidity and a little signature Syrah pepper on the finish.  This wine outperforms its price point by at least 2x and has absolutely no rough edges.  Usually a wine in this price range has something a little off, but it’s easily forgiven or overlooked because of the price.  That cannot be said about the Qupe Cellars 2007 Syrah.  Quite the opposite actually.  It’s just really good and thoroughly enjoyable!

Maybe the reason it’s so good is because the grapes were selected from 17 separate vineyards (seems a little extreme doesn’t it?)! Impressively they actually list every one of them in the winery notes.  Click Here to read the full details.

Buy this by the (miniature) case and you definitely won’t be sorry.  The Connoisseurs’ Guide review (also available at the above link) lists this at $17, presumably for the full bottle.  Considering that half bottles usually cost more by volume, $4.99 is unbelievable.

2007 Qupe Cellars Syrah 375ML- $4.99

International Wine Cellar- 87 points

“($17) Deep red. Red and dark berry aromas are brightened by cracked pepper and black tea. Light-bodied red raspberry and cherry flavors are pleasantly bitter, with good back-end snap. I’m not sure that I’d guess this to be syrah (there’s a pinot-like delicacy to it) but it’s pleasantly clean and brisk.”

2004 Broman Syrah

How is a 2004 highly rated Napa Syrah still available for purchase in 2010, for under $20?  Great question!

If you’re a fan of California Syrah, you will be hard pressed to find a better value.  Bob Broman has been making wine in Napa Valley since 1994.  His 1999 Cabernet is one of my favorite all time wines, so I had to try his Syrah.  Broman sources his grapes from highly acclaimed Napa vineyards and that quality clearly comes through in his wines.  This particular example is from the soon to be named Oak Knoll AVA of Napa.

The 2004 Syrah is already showing the complexity of its six years of age.  An aromatic nose is followed by a sweet, rich taste.  The age is apparent by the sediment stuck to the side of the bottle; usually a sign that the wine hasn’t been abused or sloshed around in storage.  The tannins are subdued, making this a smooth Syrah, with the signature signature spice only starting to show itself on the finish.  This is a spectacularly refined Syrah, likely a product of its 28 months in French oak.  Another Broman hit, and for under $20 the value is almost too good to be true.

Wine Spectator- 91 points

“Complex and detailed, with fresh, floral wild berry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit that’s full-bodied, elegant and well-balanced, ending with a burst of dark fruit and fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2015. 413 cases made.” (WS)

2004 Broman Syrah- $17.95

Stephan Asseo, who owns and makes the wine at L’Aventure Winery in Paso Robles, had the choice of any location in the world for his vineyard.  He had made wine in Burgundy and Bordeaux but was ready to explore outside of France to find the greatest terroir- which, in the wine world, means soil, land and location- in which to produce his next wine.  After searching from South Africa to Napa, he found a plot of land in Paso Robles that had the perfect terroir.  A year ago, I visited Paso Robles for a weekend of wine tasting.  I took the picture to the left because I noticed how unique the soil at L’Aventure was compared to literally every other vineyard we had seen.  It was rocky, chalky, and downright inhospitable.  And THIS is what makes L’Aventure wines so great.  The vines have to struggle to produce fruit, but the fruit they do produce comes out amazingly concentrated and flavorful.  The terroir truly comes through in his wines.

L’Aventure Optimus is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet and Petit Verdot.  It’s dense, rich and concentrated and pours a beautiful opaque ruby color.  You can tell this is a great wine just by how it looks in the glass.  This is an oaky wine but the oak is very well integrated.  While exceptionally full-bodied, the Optimus is well balanced.  The Syrah adds a pepper tone, but honestly, if you told me this was a high-end Cabernet, I would not have thought twice.  That’s not to say that the Syrah component is lost, just that it really feels like it belongs in this wine.

This wine is drinking great now, but will only improve with age.  At $39.95, it’s not cheap, but it  is a fantastic value at that price.  Robert Parker gives it 93-95 points and IWC gives it 92, so there is no question that this is a serious wine.  I’ll be buying a few more bottles to put away for 5 years.  I’m looking forward to tasting the unique terroir of L’Aventure’s estate vineyards in Paso Robles then.

L’Aventure Optimus 2007- $39.95

Robert Parker 93-95 points

“The sexiest offering at present is the 2007 Optimus Proprietary red, a blend of 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot. More fruit-forward than the 2006, the 2007 gushes with blackberry and cassis fruit, smoky, burning embers, charcoal, and toasty new oak. Full-bodied and powerful with supple tannins, decent acids, and an overall impression of voluptuousness as well as extravagant fruit and opulence, it should drink beautifully for a decade.

One of the reference point producers in Paso Robles, Frenchman Stephan Asseo continues to turn out an intriguing as well as provocative range of brilliant red wines. Sadly, his 2008 Roussanne, which I usually love, was not presented for tasting.” (WA)

International Wine Cellar 92 points

“($45; 45% syrah, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 15% petit verdot) Inky ruby. Pungent aromas of blackcurrant, cherry-vanilla, tobacco and licorice, with a strong note of peppery herbs. Supple and fine-grained, offering sweet cherry and dark berry flavors and a dusting of fine-grained tannins. Becomes spicier with air and finishes with excellent clarity and clinging floral notes. This extremely young wine deserves patience.” (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