Réméjeanne Arbousiers 2004
Posted on 17 August 2011
I can’t get enough Rhône wines at the moment. They’ve become my favourite red wines for daily and festive drinking alike. Grenache is an underrated grape: admittedly it’s prone to flabbiness and overripeness, but when done well on a good terroir, it has a beguiling sensuality and good depth too.
Another killer Rhône wine: vibrant and succulent.
After the 2000 Richaud Cairanne and 2005 Monardière Vacqueyras here is another bottle from a mixed case I bought from Aux Fins Gourmets in Germany. Domaine La Réméjeanne is of the classic estates in the Côtes du Rhône AOC, a consistent overperformer since at least a decade. Rémy Klein has a gift for great drinkability: everything here from the entry-level Chèvrefeuilles to the top Églantiers is just brimming with succulent fresh fruit, and there is never heaviness or emphasis. The 2004 Les Arbousiers is just quintessential Rhône: the sweet ripe raspberry fruit of Grenache with the peppery, tarry undertones of Syrah (of which there’s 40% here). The whole is eminently drinkable and while not very complex, it has reasonable dimension and depth. It’s also tasting far younger than you’d expect from a wine of this standing at age 7: I’d have guessed a 2007.
Best of all, this bottle cost me a ridiculous 11.50€. Andrew Jefford once wrote of the Rhône (in The New France):
For simple, artless, delicious, and supremely drinkable red wine, almost nowhere in the world can match the Côtes du Rhône at its best.
How true. It’s just fantastic to have wine with this quality and appeal at such an affordable price.
Rémy Klein of Réméjeanne. © Matt Lawson.
(This lovely portrait of Rémy Klein is by Matt Lawson – see his illustrations on Flickr as well as his design portfolio. Used with permission).
Disclosure
Source of wine: own purchase.