September's Wine of the Month - Domaine de la Vieille Julienne “Ceci est un Flaçon de Vin de France”

“If you told me this was going to be on the shelf for $32.99, I would have said it was a great deal, but at $16.99, it’s a steal!” Michael Frank, The Wine Country New World Buyer.

I was thinking the same when this gorgeous bottle of regal-tasting wine left us all nearly speechless (as if wine dorks can be speechless) and kept us returning to our glasses for another sip. It’s not too often that we are dumbstruck, but there was not one of us who could stop ourselves from smelling and tasting it, most of us returning to the sample bottle a couple more times just to make sure we were really evaluating it correctly. We were, and I let the importer know that we were going to need 25 cases for September Wine of the Month.

The Domaine de la Vieille Julienne is located at the northern end of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and dates back to the 17th century. Due to its northern exposure, the vines don’t get as much direct heat, so the wines are more on the elegant end for the southern Rhone. The estate believes strongly in biodiversity and works their vineyards with that in mind.

Made from a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Counoise, and Mourvedre, this refined red wine is layered and has more complexity than many Chateauneuf-du-Papes we’ve tasted, even though some of the grapes for this magnificent table red lie just outside the actual region. You are actually getting baby Chateauneuf for a quarter of the price! A floral, gentle spice, red-fruited, wicked cool dried herbal notes, dreamy red wine that is suitable for all your end-of-summer grilling, and noble enough for nice dinner tables.

I still cannot believe how beautiful this wine is for the price. Grab it while you can.