There is another election - or choice, rather - descending on the American people. This time it is not Republican against Democrat, it is France battling California. With the abrupt departure of Great Britain from the European Union, the French are concerned about the future of their huge market in that country.
Since Great Britain does not produce wine, they are a great marketplace for those who do. As you can imagine, the other non-EU wine-producing countries are looking at the English as a new source of income. While California, Chile and Argentinean wines are sold in Great Britain, the preponderance of wine sold is French. Part of this is the traditional dependence of Great Britain on Europe for much of its produce and the benefits of its association with the EU.
So where does that leave the French? It leaves them to trade on their reputation as the traditional home of fine wines and hope that the Brexit will not make a dramatic difference in sales. One competitor of note is Les Trois Couronnes – The Three Crowns – a producer of very attractive wines from the Rhone River Valley region.
Les Trois Couronnes 2014 Chateauneuf du Pape ($40)
As is the case with all of the Chateauneuf du Pape wines, this wine has been made from a potpourri of Rhone varieties which include grenache, cinsault, mourvedre, syrah, muscardin, counoise, clairette and bourboulenc. This assemblage of varieties gives the winemaker a great deal of latitude in creating the final blend.
What resulted is a wine that has a bright and pleasant ruby red color and an aroma that offers cherry and spice with hints of licorice and tar. The flavor cradles berries and black pepper with an under-flavor of mushrooms in the background. The first sip will illustrate why this wine is so popular.
Les Trois Couronnes Cote du Rhone 2014 Rose ($10)
Lovely is the best term to describe this wine. A blend of 85 percent grenache, 10 percent cinsault and 5 percent syrah, this wine is a true ambassador for both France and the wines of the Rhone River region.
The wine displays a delightful pink color that leads into the aromas of lychee and white summer fruits, which is reprised by the flavor and finish. This wine is an excellent and affordable introduction to the beauties of the Rhone River Valley.
Les Trois Couronnes Cote du Rhone 2014 ($10)
This wine is the big brother of the Les Trois Couronnes Cote du Rhone Rose. It is a big, bold red wine made in the traditional Rhone blend of 85 percent grenache and 15 percent syrah, endowing it with the strong and obvious aromas of black fruits, spices and licorice followed by a flavor that officers a generous display of dark fruits and spices. Typical of all French wines, this wine ends in a blast of fruit flavors that are almost indescribable.
Trois Couronnes 2013 Gigondas ($25)
As is the usual case with Rhone wines, this wine is a blend, this time of grenache, syrah and mourvedre. It is the mourvedre that dominates the aroma, contributing its signature cherry and berry to the blend. The flavor and finish are strong, fruity and very French. If you are not familiar with the wines of the Rhone River Valley or even those of France, Gigondas is a great door opener.
Les Trois Couronnes 2013 Vacqueyras ($19)
Another example of the traditional blending of grenache at 85 percent and syrah at 15 percent, this wine is made of fruits from a different part of the Rhone River Valley and thus has a slightly different end result.
Black fruits, spices and licorice in almost overabundance seem to fill the room when the bottle is opened. Ripe black cherry and cinnamon highlight the flavor with a suggestion of cedar in the background.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at ben@articlesonwine.com.
