Winery: Domaine de Beaurenard
Wine: Red Rhône Blend 2005
Location: Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau, France
Purchased: The Corkscrew
Price: $17.99

Domaine de Beaurenard’s red Rhône blend is a wine Jonathan and I drank in the past and really enjoyed. I failed to write about it the first time or note the vintage. Although, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a 2005. We were eager to sample this wine again, but I was a little disappointed I didn’t have notes from the first time to compare our tastings.

The wine is comprised of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah. The wine in the glass had a velvety, burgundy appearance. Honestly, it was just gorgeous. I thought the nose was intriging. Jonathan immediatley picked up dried fruits such as figs. I seemed to notice more dark cherries and blackberries, but did notice a slight hint of a sherry smell. The dried fruits and sherry smell was a bit of a surprise, and I don’t remember that from previous bottle of this wine. On the palate, Domaine de Beaurenard showed lots of red fruits, not exactly matching the nose. This was a medium bodied wine with medium tannins and nice acidity, it gave me just a slight mouthwatering feel at the end. I liked this wine quite a bit especially for the price, I thought it was an excellent value.

Domaine de Beaurenard in Châteauneuf-du-Pape has been a family run estate for seven generations. It’s orgins date back to around 1695. Today, Daniel and Frédéric Coulon are working to maintain the winemkaing traditon. The estate covers just under 80 acres in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and about 61 acres in the Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau AOC area.