- $22.99 for 85 Year Old Vines- 90-92 from Joe Czerwinski of the Wine Advocate
George Lelektsoglou (the "Greek") is the most respected wine retailer in the Rhone. He's been the
first person to sell most of the famous names. He doesn't just know every vineyard in the Rhone. He knows every rock and every tree. What many people don't know is that he makes a small number of wines. When he is able to source incredible grapes, he secures them and makes incredible wines that are insane values. Long time Fass Listers can attest to some of the incredible values that we've had from him. And today? Today is one of the craziest values you'll ever see.
I have the new vintage of the 2016 Georges Lelektsoglou Cairanne Vieilles Vignes for $23.99 on a 4-Pack and $22.99 on a case from 85+ year old Cairanne vines. I had a bottle again in January at the shop and it is a wonder. It drinks so well and has a level of precision, finesse and density that wines of this level hardly ever have. It's got stuffing. It's got refinement, that utterly classic 2016 refinement. Amazing material here. The nose is stunning. You can't believe the wine is this inexpensive. Lavender, garrigue, menthol, earth, wet earth, cassis, super aromatic. After air it gains a liquer-like aromas that is spellbinding. Also tons of black cherry and deep, deep cassis. It's everything you want out of an inexpensive wine which is a wine with "expensive wine DNA" but still has the charm of an inexpensive wine. Wonderful purity and freshness. So precise on the palate. Big, rich palate but dazzlingly fresh and straight as an arrow with such amazing precision. Incredibly pure. This has all the terrific stoniness the South is known for but with really clean, rich, precise fruit. The Greek has an amazing hand with Grenache on it's own like in his CDP or blended like this Cairanne. Big chewy, amazingly ripe tannins and big acids give this wine structure and the ability to age for 10-12 years.
At this point it needs a one hour decant and will drink well for 10-12 years. The blend is 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre and 25% Carignan. Great and unusual blend. If I'm drinking Southern Rhone it tends to be for explosive yet contained fruit. Backed by the stoniness of the Southern Rhone it can be a dreamy combo and what one wants. But this also being more north you get a lot of the cooling blue fruits that are preponderant in the North. If I could create a Cairanne from scratch this is how it should taste. I think this will gain finesse over time and become even more of a knockout, thus the case pricing. The 2016 which got 90-92 from Joe Cerzwinski of the Wine Advocate is a stupendous value. In Februrary of 2016 Cairanne was elevated and is now a Cotes du Rhone Cru. This means the wines can be labeled without Cotes-Du-Rhone Villages anymore. It's the same level as Gigondas, but less expensive. For now. This is an extreme value.
"The least expensive of all the wines here (under €20)-and the one that pays for all the others, according to Lelektsoglou-is the 2016 Cairanne Vieilles Vignes. Offering up bushels of ripe raspberries, this ripe, silky wine is medium to full-bodied, blending in hints of garrigue on the long finish." 90-92 Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
I call George the Kingmaker because you know you've arrived when your wines are sold in his store. All of the top winemakers speak his name with reverence. The Greek knows every AOC, every vineyard in every AOC and every rock in every vineyard like the back of his hand. And while he makes fancier wines under his own name, I think that this wine is his greatest accomplishment. Why? Because it drinks like a really, really good wine that costs twice as much. If it cost $40, I would still happily sell it.
2016 Georges Lelektsoglou Cairanne "Vieilles Vignes" - $25.99
($95.96 4-pack, $275.88 12 bottle case) (LIMITED)
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