2009 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône “Les Sablières”
I’ve always been attracted to this wine. In general, I really enjoy drinking Rhône and I’m not ashamed to hunt for a bargain. Next, I’ve been reading that the 2009 vintage is a good to great one. Finally, the label has an insect on it! Who in their right mind (perhaps besides someone from Santa Cruz or maybe Australia) would ever consider putting a hideous black beetle on a wine bottle? Brilliant!!!
This helpful site by a wine lover in Denmark says that Domaine des Escaravailles, based in Rasteau, chose the “escravaille” in honor of a Seventeenth Century priest that was popular in the town. Though do you think that a man of the cloth would really like to be remembered in connection with a bug? I wonder? The current owner, Gilles Ferran, (the grandson of the founder) took over in 1999.
As part of our attempt to survey inexpensive 2009 Côtes du Rhônes, it was a lot of fun to try the “beetle-wine.” We previously tasted it in 2007 with mixed results, though we stand by our original evaluation: “it’s better when you drink more.” Really, that is universally applicable wine advice in most all circumstances, isn’t it? I’ll try to be more specific this time around. The 2009 was good, probably better than the ’07 for our taste. So far, we’ve really enjoyed the 2009 Côtes du Rhône Doamine de la Becassonne blanc and the St. Cosme. Wine Spectator even liked that last one, listing it in its top 100 wines for 2010. Congrats, St. Cosme!
2009 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône “Les Sablières:” 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Carignane. The wine is a deep red to purple color. Aromas of red currant, saddle leather and bitumen fill the glass. This almost had a hint of bubbles, which suggested to us that it might benefit from a little decanting and could age for a few years. Medium to full body with raspberry, Bing cherry and mineral notes with an earthy finish, this wine is good. Hegui thought it was “o.k.” He says that he wouldn’t necessarily go out of his way to look for it, he would enjoy it again should it appear in his glass.
At under $15 a bottle, you should give it a try, too.