This is a beautiful Côtes du Rhone. Dark opaque ruby in colour. Full and lush showing intense aromas of dark ripe berries and an earthy undertone with a kick of pepper. Nice acidity, grippy tannins and enjoyable long finish. Very complex and savory, definitely one of the best tasted at this price point. Looking forward to see how this develops over time.

top drawer.
Bye again.
I would try to describe it but I would do an injustice was everything that everyone else said it was much more eloquently than I

The 2010 Domaine Les Grands Bois Cuvée Philippine Côtes Du Rhône Villages is composed of 55% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 10% Carignan and was aged in oak for about 11 months. It is a medium bodied, fruity wine, with intense aromas of blackberry, black cherry, chocolate, smoke, oak and vanilla. Its tannins are dusty and tannic (decant for 30+ minutes) and has a medium finish. Drink from 2014/15 and cellar till 2020-25 as it has ‘evolution’ potential of another 1-2 pts. Drink-how: now drink with food, in 5+ years it will make a great sipper. My impression: NICE, 90 pts - recommended buy at this price, especially for people who can tuck it away for few+ years. Tasted Aug/12.

See my wine recommendations readily available at the LCBO here:

www.GrapeSelections.com

or here @
http://www.winealign.com/wino/dantrcka/recommended-wines-you-can-still-buy

Oak and rubber aromas from cork. Medium intensity violet, lavender, blackberries, crushed black fruits and hints of oak aromas from the glass. Medium-full bodied with blackfruits, garrigue, mint and undertones of cocoa on the palate. Oak comes through on the long, smooth finish. Mouth-watering acidity with juicy, ripe tannins that are well-integrated. Nicely balanced throughout, with good structure and clarity. Tasted Mar/2013.

Yet another sub twenty dollar wine rating a 91. I am not even disappointed any more. Every taste seemed a little different, some better than others. The classic Rhone taste was muted, and often the wine was very smooth, but contrary to the reviews I could not detect much of a finish. It is worth the price, but I can't stretch to give it a 90.

Deep purple in color, this Rhône blend opened up with an attractive bouquet of cherry, plumy-blackberry fruit, wood smoke, sweet spices and cedar notes. On the mouthfeel, medium-full bodied, with flavours of dark fruit, strawberry jam and savoury spices, balance acidity and fine grained tannins. Medium finish, not particularly complex but the flavours are very nice and the texture is pure velvet. This is a very smooth, harmonious, easy drinking wine, made to please and at this price, strongly recommended.

Very nice with beef Stroganoff.

This CdR is very dense, tight and tannic. Beneath all that are some good flavours, notably blackberries, pepper, smoke and herbs, with hints of burnt wood. A difficult wine to evaluate at this stage as it is still not providing that much enjoyment due to the tannin. I'd suggest giving this at least two more years and hoping that the austere structure gives way to something more supple. Decant if drinking now. Tasted Dec 2014.