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Blue Eye’d Boy & Brunier Racines for Family BBQ Rib Dinner
Following a hectic busy late summer Saturday of family sports and other activities that included no less than five grandkids’, soccer games, and Erin running her 39th half marathon, (finishing third woman overall and first in her age group).
We gathered at our house for a Saturday night BBQ rib dinner and opened two special big red wines from our cellar for the occasion.
Partly in light of son Alec being here we served this hearty Australian Shiraz from Mollydooker, one of our favorite go-to wines, and a declared signature wine for our
‘blue eye’d boy’, son Alec, along with ‘Alec’s Blend’ from Napa Valley
Lewis Cellars.
We also served this Brunier Lynch Les Pallieres Racines Rhone. We discovered and tasted this wine with Linda, Alec, and Vivianna at the winery in Chateauneuf-du-Pape during our Southern France Wine Experience back in 2018.
Mollydooker Blue Eye’d Boy McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012
This is one of our favorite go-to wines, and a declared signature wine for our ‘blue eye’d boy’, son Alec, along with ‘Alec’s Blend’ from Napa Valley Lewis Cellars.
This is 100% McLaren Vale blend aged one year in 90% new American oak.Winemaker Notes – “This
wine is like taking a bite from a blueberry muffin. A mouthful full of
rich, creamy vanilla followed by an explosion of blueberries. A powerful
wine with vibrant dark berry fruits, plum, and chocolate cream. A silky
texture is laced with luscious layers of fresh fruit, spice, coffee and
a seamless finish that lasts for eternity.”
This was awarded Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
This review from Nick’s wines, Australia – “Impenetrable inky black dark purple colour with very deep black purple
red hue showing superb glass cling. The nose offers up an intense
bouquet of ripe blackberry liqueur and liquorice followed by some subtle
dark chocolate, vanillin confectionary, toasty oak and spice. Boasting
enormous weight, richness and concentration the palate is saturated with
voluptuously textured and opulent flavours of liquorice, ripe
blackberries and black cherries followed by some toasty vanillin oak and
confectionary with subtle blackpepper on the back palate. Outstanding
power and depth. Velvet smooth tannins with long persistent aftertaste
of liquorice, ripe blackberries, black cherries, toasty vanillin oak and
subtle blackpepper. Drink over the next 5-6 years.”
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Tonight’s tasting was markedly different than my last post in October 2019 when I wrote: “This was dark blackish inky purple, full bodied, powerful, rich
forward fruit of super ripe savoury extracted raisin, notes of expresso
coffee, soy and anise, with a bit of heat with almost a medicinal or
metallic layer. I wonder if this is indicative of this vintage or if
perhaps we held it a bit too long, or perhaps this is an aberrant
bottle. We have some more of this vintage and will watch it carefully. RM 88 Points.”
That bottle may have been a bit aberrant or showing some bottle variation. Tonight, this was more in line with the characteristic profile of this wine that we love.
Dark inky purple garnet colored, full bodied, rich, intense thick concentrated jammy black and blue fruits with notes of cassis, anise, bitter dark chocolate, spice, black tea and hints of soy with chewy tannins on a full but smooth polished tannin laced finish.
RM 92 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1762926
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| Tasting this wine with producer Daniel Brunier at the estate |
Brunier Lynch Domaine les Pallieres “Les Racines” Gigondas 2016
As noted above, we discovered and were first introduced to this label while visiting the Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. Châteauneuf-du-Pape winery estate during our Rhone Wine Experience back in 2018.
This Domaine Les Pallières,
label is a collaborative partnership between the Brunier Family of Château Vieux Telegraphe with the noted merchant exporter
(importer to America) Kermit Lynch, in the nearby commune and
appellation of Gigondas.
This was rated 96 points by
Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, 94-96 points by
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and 94 points
by Vinous.
This is 80% Grenache, 15% Syrah – Cinsault (co-planted) and 5% Clairette made from the oldest 75-year-old
vines of the estate located around the domaine in Gigonda, the appellation to the north and east of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
We visited the Gigondas appellation during our Rhone Valley Wine Experience back in 1999.
The area sits about 200-400 feet in elevation, higher than the lower appellation sites lying closer to the Rhone River in the valley, with soils that are a mix of broken
limestone and clay. The resulting wines are invariably darker black with more dense and concentrated fruits, more akin to the typically more prestigious Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines.
Dark blackish purple garnet colored, full bodied, complex layered spice-accented black currant, black raspberry and notes of blueberry, baking spices, olive tapanade, herbs, black tea with gripping but smooth polished tannins on the long finish.
RM 92 points.
