Grapelive Wine of the Day
By Kerry Winslow
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2010 Andrieux & Fils Vacqueyras “Cuvee Andre” Vieilles Vignes, Red, France.
The Andrieux wines have been a great find for me and for many people looking for value priced high quality wines with nice packaging and exciting flavors. Alex Andrieux puts these wines together from select grapes only from old vines in the region, mostly in the southern Rhone area, even though his also has a very intriguing Cote-Rotie offering as well. Last year he blew me away with his white, rose and basic Cotes du Rhone, all of which flowed gracefully and with good charm, terroir and character, but I must admit these 2010 wines look like the best yet, and I especially love this 2010 Vacqueyras red, mostly Genache, though a good dose of Mourvedre really does the trick here, plus a little Syrah helps as well. The nose is spicy and deep with black fruits, crushed stones, violets, white pepper and framboise before the round and lively palate of much the same along with red cherries, strawberry, blueberry and juicy acidity. This wine is clear and vivid with touches of baked earth, lavender and anise all playing nicely with the black, red and blue fruits. A soft kiss of tannins and a super subtle oak help with balance and focus making for a serious wine that could develop a bit more complexity over the next few years in bottle, even though I might suggest enjoying this little beauty sooner vs. later, as it is very good now.
($20 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive
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