Delas Frères Côtes du Rhône Saint Esprit 2021
- vc90
- ws89
Category | Red Wine |
Varietals | |
Brand | Delas Frères |
Origin | France, Rhône, Côtes du Rhône |
The Côtes-du-Rhône Saint Esprit is made from a blend of syrah and grenache grapes, which come from a small village in the Ardèche region. The vineyard’s southern exposure on steep granite hillsides provides the best-growing conditions for the vines. The climate is Mediterranean and bears the stamp of the "mistral" wind. This strong wind results from a difference in atmospheric pressures between the northern and southern parts of the Rhône Valley. It is beneficial to the vine's growth. The region is also marked by seasonal rains, and hot, exceptionally sunny weather in the summer months.
The Saint-Esprit's deep color has a dark, plum-like hue. The nose is classic syrah, with berry fruit, violet, and licorice. It has a full, rounded palate with delicate tannins, making it a unique wine in the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation. Saint-Esprit pairs well with Provençale-style cuisine, stuffed tomatoes and eggplant, mixed grills, and barbecue.
View from the Cellar
- vc90
"Saint Esprit" bottling from Maison Delas is composed of a blend of sixty percent syrah and forty percent grenache, with the wine coming in at fourteen percent alcohol in this vintage. It is fermented and raised in a stainless steel tank. The wine offers up a complex bouquet of red and black raspberries, roasted meats, granitic soil tones, pepper, just a hint of garrigue, and a top note of bonfire. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, and rock solid at the core, with a good chassis of ripe tannin, fine focus, and a long, complex, and very nicely balanced finish. This is tasty already, but has the underlying structure to cellar for a few years and improves with further bottle age. Good juice. 2023-2040.
Wine Spectator
- ws89
A well-crafted Cotes du Rhone, with bitter cherry and plum coursing alongside earthy undertones of licorice root and singed alder. Fresh and vivid, with black pepper, anise and menthol lining the mesquite-kissed finish. Syrah and Grenache. Drink now. 75,000 cases made, 12,168 cases imported.