2001 Cotes du Rhone Les Deux Albion

Should readers still be able to find any of the 2001 Cotes du Rhone Les Deux Albions, it’s the poor person’s version of Marcel Guigal’s Cote Rotie La Mouline. This blend of 15% white wine along with 50% Syrah, 15% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, and 10% Carignan offers a floral, perfumed bouquet along with sweet creme de cassis flavors intermixed with smoke, bacon fat, and honeysuckle. This medium to full-bodied, luscious Cotes du Rhone is a terrific effort for the price. Most wines of this quality cost three to four times as much. Importer: a Patrick Lesec Selection, various American importers, including Stacole Fine Wines, Boca Raton, FL; tel. (561) 998-0039, Classic Wines, Boston, MA; tel. (617) 469-5799; Fine Vines LLC, Maywood, IL; tel. (708) 343-5901; Associated Wine Distributors, St. Helena, CA; tel. (707) 963-8048; and Vintage ’59 Imports, Washington, DC; tel. (202) 966-9218

(50% syrah, 15% grenache, 15% carignan, 10% mourvedre and 10% clairette; harvested very ripe and not destemmed; the cuvaison lasted 55 days) Medium ruby-red. Huge, roasted, complex nose combines currant, bitter cherry, leather, meat, violet, spices, garrigue and earth tones. Dense, sweet and outsized, with sound acidity adding to the impression of structure. Strong violet, leather and meat notes. Very firmly built wine, finishing with peppery but ripe tannins.