2004 Domaine La Remejeanne, Cote du Rhone, "Les Arbousiers". I had been waiting to open this bottle...all of 7 days...because the producer had come so highly recommended by both David Raines in Boston (USA), and by Lutgard Pigmans of the more local Kempische Wijnhuis. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan. Rised in stainless steel. Red-purple hue and saturated robe. Very shy at first, then showing a precise core of sweet blueberries, framed with pepper and spice. Great concentration, without being over-extracted. Sweet. Later, the sweet core is still there but the rest has now an added dimension of citrus rind and mint. Cool calm and precise, with a nice ripe aftertaste. A beautiful wine, all for.......9.20 euro!!! I'm going back for 2 cases!

I love tasting wines but I especially love tasting wines with my wife. She claims that she has no palate but I beg to differ. I usually have a glass waiting for her when she comes home from work, and I love watching her take that first sip. Not because she looks so French doing so, but because I can tell in that first second after she tastes if it's just wine or if it's REALLY good. Valou retains no memory of labels so even if we had had it before she wouldn't be swayed by the bottle itself. On this day, the drill was no different. I had already started in on my glass by the time she arrived home, and was very much enjoying what I was drinking. She started talking about her day, I handed her a glass and then she took a sip. A second later, she paused, stopped her train of thought, and looked at the bottle. "This is GOOD," she said. I smiled. It is good and I recommend you search out this bottle at your favorite wine shop.