One of My Favorite Wines from the Southern Rhone

I love Marcel Richaud. I think that is how I started the first e-mail offer. Well the love has only

grown stronger since the last two offers as many of you have tasted the wines and been blown away. They need time, the need huge decants but the balance and purity of these wines almost cannot be beat in the Southern Rhone. He is very non interventionist and uses minimal sulfur and as a fault you have big wines with astonishing purity. He has always been a rockstar in France.

The first wine is the 2012 Marcel Richaud l'Ebresacde is a steal at $42.99 a bottle on the 3-pack. Why I like Marcel's wines is because they are big, beautiful and pure, yet are always in balance and always have such intriguing and distinctive flavors. The fruit is always compelling and the wines are just stuffed with fruit, but they have an intense mineral backbone. They are in a word gorgeous and I am not a huge fan of Southern Rhone wines. Richaud makes lovely everyday Cairanne cuvees but when you get to L'Ebrescade and the new cuvee "Estrambords" the up-tick in quality is as big at any winery I have ever experienced. The price does not match the up-tick in quality.  When Michel Bettane worked for the RVF (Revue de Vin de France) he did a 20 year vertical for an article on Marcel Richaud's brilliant Cairanne "l'Ebrescade" VV and every wine was not only still gorgeous and youthful yet displaying secondary and tertiary aromas and flavors, but most needed even more time. The 2010 I sold many of you is maybe the best since the 2001. That 2001 is the best since 1996. This 2012 falls in the middle. I can proudly offer one of my absolute favorite wines in the world. I have sold every vintage since the 2001, that has been available to me and will continue to do so as this is an absolutely insane wine. Equal parts Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre the wine is an absolute freak show. This is not pop and pour. You need to be ready for this wine. I'd open one or two days ahead of when you want to drink it or give an aggressive splash decant. Even though there is minimal sulfur I have drunk bottles of the 2010 over 4-5 days and they gain in complexity and freshness. I see this wine aging 20-25 years. I know many people regretted passing on this last time but do not miss it this time.

I also have a super cool and very special wine from Marcel Richaud today. If the l'Ebrescade is too rich for your tastes then the 2012 Marcel Richaud Cotes du Rhone Villages "Rasteau" should be right in your wheelhouse for $27.99 on the 4-pack. I love Rasteau and never see enough of it around. Well there is a lot of so-so Rasteau around and I have no idea whatever happened to Jerome Bressy? Anyone.?When Rasteau is on it can be one of the best values in all of the Southern Rhone. Perched on a tall hill, Rasteau can be meaty, complex, nuanced, layered, spicy and elegant. It was elevated to Cote du Rhone Cru status in 2010. This is 50% Grenache and 50% Syrah. It is very structured and aromatic while also being full bodied and generous. Haven't had many closed Rasteau's in my day. Back to the aromas for a second. Rasteau has a huge diversity of soils and as a result the wines can be aromatically stunning. Think somewhere between power and elegance. There is clay-limestone, red soil atop sandstone and skeletal soils atop marl and many of these areas are covered by galets (pebbles). The resultant wine is one if the best Rasteau's out there and for $28 is a steal.

2012 Domaine Richaud Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau - $29.99 ($111.96 4-pack)

2012 Domaine Richaud Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne "'l'Ebrescade" Vieilles Vignes - $44.99  

($128.97 3-pack)