Regular Retail: $18.99
Deal Price: $14.99 a bottle or an additional 10% off a case
If you want to taste a true Rhone Valley, French terrior driven wine in the glass, pick up a bottle of this week's wine special, the Boutinot's Rasteau 'Les Blanquettes Escarpees' 2016. France's famed Rhone Valley is split into two sub regions, the northern and southern Rhone. The north is known for their powerful, yet supple, rich reds made solely from the Syrah grape. In the south, the reds are primarily blends made with Grenache as the dominant red variety and mixed with other notable varieties such as Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsaut, and Carignan to create a more complex tapestry of aromas and flavors. Within the southern Rhone are many of the world's most famous AOC’s, including Châteauneuf du Pape, Tavel, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Carianne to name a few. Just a bit east of the same south facing ridge as the Cairanne AOC, is the smaller and lesser known AOC of Rasteau. Rasteau is a much more intimate growing region than their neighbors and they produce more traditional French wine that are truly reflections of the land they are produced in. The wines are heavily influenced by the warm Mediterranean sea climate and the wild herbs and grasses that dominate the region.
The fruit for the 2015 Boutinot Rasteau is hand harvested from south facing, hillside escarpments (Les Blanquettes Escarpees). The wine is natural yeast fermented in open top wood fermenters and aged in 600L barrels for 24 months. Boutinot prefers the larger format barrels to give their wines just enough spice and backbone without overpowering the flavor of the wine with wood. The wine has a definite dark, heavy red color from the dark, older vine Grenache used in the blend, which includes 28% Syrah and 7% Mourvedre. We were smitten by the nose of the wine with its layers of dusty cherry, blackberry, red currant, bramble berry fruits mixed with rosemary, sage, white pepper and lavender. The warmer growing season gave this wine more heft, richness and depth on the palate with plenty of fruit and lingering, toasted spice notes. Suggested food pairing is wild boar ragu over pasta, a marinated venison casserole or slow roasted lamb shank. Cheers.
Send an email to winedeals@barriquesmarket.com with your name and preferred pickup location if you are interested in having us set some aside for you. Alternatively, fill out the form below. All orders received by 5pm will be ready by 5pm of the following business day, Mon - Fri. Orders placed on Fri - Sun will be available on the following Monday by 5pm. All email orders will receive a confirmation email. Offer good through November 6th.
