Wow! I had this last night for dinner
with a steak and it was impressive!
It is perfect for drinking right now and
Parker rates the vintage a 90!
Berthe Rayne's Castel Mireio is 70%
Grenache, which accounts
for its lushness and approachability. It is
dense and powerfully built. There is 20%
Syrah, which lends structure and longevity to
the wine.
It is one smooth wine with a lot of material.
Domaine Berthet-Rayne started four generations
ago, back in 1880 when Grandpa Berthet-Rayne
ripped out the corn and potato crops and
planted Syrah, Mourvedre, and Grenache
grapes. There is a lot a machine harvesting
in the south, but not at Michel Berthet
Rayne's farm; all by hand. In fact, he uses
the tri system, which means multiple
passes
through the vineyard to ensure that only the
ripe grapes get into the mix.
Let me map out the Cotes du Rhone for you.
Cotes du Rhone wines represent over 60% of
all the wines produced in the Rhone Valley.
There are over 100,000 acres under vine.
There are only about 13,000 (a little over 10%) acres
that can put Cotes
du Rhone-Villages on the bottle (encompassing
96 different wine villages.)
The difference between Cotes du Rhone and
Cotes du Rhone Villages is mostly the
terroir, but the yields per hectare and the
alcohol minimums are slightly stricter. About
20 of the best of these communes are allowed
to add the name of their village to the
label. (We are now down to about 5% of the Cotes de
Rhone) Cairanne, is one of those villages
with superior terroir and considered at the
top of this rarefied list.
The best Cairanne like this wine can easily rival
nearby
Chateauneuf du Pape for about a third the
price.
Castel Mireio is wonderful with any full
flavored food. I love it with spicy pizza,
but it will stand up to anything with its
flavors of earthy truffles and dark red
fruits.
So, pull the cork on a Cotes du Rhone
Villages Cairanne tonight - it won't change
the weather outside, but it will definitely
warm up your insides and conjure up some
pleasant warm weather memories.
Cynthia Hurley
