David’s Wine of the Week: 2009 La Compagnie Rhodanienne, Cotes du Rhône, Les Combelles
I always worry about Rhônes and Burgundies from 2009. They get good vintage-chart ratings, but “good” ain’t my experience. This was a warm vintage, yielding wines uncharacteristically strong. So it was a happy surprise when I came upon this exciting red wine from the dreaded ’09 vintage. Medium garnet in the glass, a little soupy-looking. The thrill’s in the nose—as if the hot weather forced this wine to age a little quicker than it should have. I LOVE the funky, brett-inflected aromas, including mild skunk, mixed with meat and chocolate. There’s a sweet attack on the palate, but the wine quickly shifts gears: it gets drier, lighter, with lots of refreshing acidity. There’s nary a scratch of tannin in the finish, but maybe a hint of heat.
Wine4Food
I had it with fresh pasta mingled with a long-cooked lamb sauce, and fresh-grated Pecorino Romano; rich sauce and lively wine fit like soulmates.Trust it for all kinds of long-cooked meat situations; I’d avoid it with rare steaks and chops.
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Photos: Compagnierhodanienne.fr & CellarTracker.com
