Rhône Valley Values

The Wine Curmudgeon has heard a fair amount of whining lately from the wine crowd. “All those inexpensive wines taste the same,” say the malcontents. “Those cheap wines lack character, polish and panache. To get a decent wine these days, you gotta part with a three or four sawbucks.*”

To which The Wine Curmudgeon says: “Poppycock!”

Where are these people shopping for their vino? Bloomingdale’s of Bordeaux? If these bellyachers spent half as much time as they spend figuring out how to TiVo Desperate Housewives, they’d quickly find wines of distinction; wines with balance and flair; wines with a judicious amount of alcohol that play nicely with food; wines that, most importantly, people can afford. Eventually, they’d find Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages.

For those of you who flunked 10th grade French, The Wine Curmudgeon will reluctantly refer to this unwieldy wine region as CDR. Ah, CDR, it reminds him of the PBR—Pabst Blue Ribbon beer—of his younger days. And well it should. CDR-Villages wine comes from 17 villages in the southern Rhône Valley. There they make a working man’s wine (I suppose that’s “working person’s wine,” these days) from grenache, syrah, mourvèdre and long list of other red grapes. And just because a working person can afford a wine, does that mean it has to be swill? Gimme a break!

The Wine Curmudgeon recently had the pleasure of tasting a raft of wines from the CDR. Three of these were under $15 a bottle and tasted better than those costing twice as much. The 2003 Cellier des Dauphins, Prestige CDR was a mere eight bucks and would make a fine partner for a grilled burger slathered with some blue cheese. The 2001 Domaine Rouge Garance, Feuille de Garance CDR was outstanding, especially for $15. But the value champ had to be the 2002 Domaine de Beaurenard CDR. Smoky, black licorice aromas with endearing berry and spice flavors that evolved with every sip. How much, you ask? Eleven bucks.

But don’t come crying to me if you can’t find these specific wines. Just do what The Wine Curmudgeon did to find these stellar wines. He went to his wine shop and asked for CDRs under $15. So stop whining and go ask.

*One sawbuck is old school for $10.

2002 Domaine de Beaurenard Côtes du Rhône

• Two Thumbs Up

• $11

• Aromas of charcoal, smoke, blackberry, then black licorice after it opened up. The first sip offered pleasant, medium-bodied, yummy, unique fruit flavors like boysenberry and blueberry. Later on, spices with tart fruit reminiscent of mango. No two sips were the same.