Alain Junguenet is bring in serious wine. I tasted the Clos Des Brusq. yesterday with Michael Peters. Loved it so much I'm featuring it during the Rhone Dinner Pairing @ Park Avenue Club. Loved the darkness of it. If you drink it take time to sniffy sniffy the empty glass, it will be very expressive then. Serious Black pepper, anise and cran-blueberry. Buy this...more then one!

hi Gary
well I have had the Perdrix severel times in several years. You need to bring on the Domaine Pegau and Ossiglio

BR
John

Had an E.Guigal Chateauneuf Du Pape 2003 last night. Have yet to try the 2007's, am definitely looking forward to adding quite a few of them to my cellar though. The 2003 we had last night was extremely good, but I don't think it was 85 dollars good, which the establishment jacked us with. ;)

Great show! Classic WLTV. Not had any 07s yet.

Hey Gary

haven't tried the 2007 Chateauneuf Du Papes yet, but looking forward to it now.

Cheers
Andrew

Gary

Just trying to catch up on many episodes that I have missed. Sorry for the late comment. I love Chateauneuf Du Pape, I have not had any 2007's but I am looking forward to sampling as many as I can get my hands on.

Joe

Man I am getting behind in watching, loads of software development and wine making this last week.

QOTD: I've never had a Chateauneuf Du Pape. Around here I only see the Louis Bernard at the store.

QOTD: Pats sucked.

Hey Gary,
I've been busy the past couple weeks, missed a couple shows. What a great one to come back to. You at your best, blowing it up on one of my favorite wine regions. I've had a number of 2006 CdP, which haven't been all that spectacular, and I've put away all my 05 in the cellar for a few years, but i'll have to try and eplore the 07 vintage. Hopefully I can put away a few bottles long enough for the aromatics to start blossoming (I was wondering when you think about how these will evolve). Thanks as always for all the love.

Harry

As always, great performance Gary - i really enjoyed.

Of course I do not wanna be a nitpicker, but as I know you have read my new 500 pages book about Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and should know that there are 22 grape varieties used (as stated before no Viognier is allowed). 7% of the total wine production are white .... -:))

Harry Karis

This slightly more nerdy Rhone episode appealed to me hugely. Also inspired me to wander by Nicholas (large French retail outlet in the UK) on my way hoe and quiz the sales guy with some of the tones picked up in this episode (esp the Brusquieres). Ended up shying away from the Papes (owing to limited funds) but did buy a Rhone on recommendation. Looking forward to opening that.

Hi Gary, this years cruise was just awesome. I loved all the people, met a lot of great characters and the Grand Tasting was just unbelievable. We will not make it next year, but I am sure you will be having a great time. Hope to see you in 2011 or 2012.

QOTD: Châteauneuf-du-Pape is my favourite wine region. Hence, I have quite a few 07 CdPs sitting in my cellar, but have not touched the yet. I had an entry-level 06 lately (Pierre Usseglio) and it was very good (90), and I had an 04 recently (Le Vieux Donjon) that still was a little too young for me, even after three hours in the decanter (89).

I have not had the 2007 but I am sure I will like it. I will cheer for the Jets to beat the Pats (no prediction on score or winner).

Sorry, but I gotta go with Pats over the Jets. I'm a 49ers fan from SF and have Randy Moss & Wes Welker on my fantasy football team. I'm scared of what the Jets can do on defense but we're talking about one of the best offensive teams in the league. My prediction: 24-14 Pats. Have a great rest of the weekend, try not to be too upset on Monday!

Love the vids. It's del Potro, not del Posto...but I got the reference. Also appreciate the Serena reference...obviously you have been watching the US Open.

Jets 24
other team 23

QOTD: My son says Pats 17-Jets 13

QOTD: No CdP for me. I buy the less expensive Rhones.

GV - Love the counoise reference... I actually really like that varietal, quite a bit by itself. Coming back, I have a few shows catch up on.... I am huge fan of the CDP wines.... great show.

Another show idea..... blending grapes by themselves... might be fun theme.

As always, thanks for the content.

QOTD: JETS, JETS, JETS........ call it 21-14... give the d a little credit.

#2 - no, but I will try asap....

QOTD 1) PATS GV!! Sorry, bro- but it's a done deal: 27-24.

QOTD 2) I've had many 2007 Southern Rhone wines, and all seem to have a balance of super ripeness and complexity that provides value even at the Cote du Rhone Village level or the Vaqueras, Gigondas, Vinsobres level. Lower-end wines are beautifully approachable within this year, btu many can age easily over the next decade. Exciting vintage, even if the alcohol levels are all pretty damn high.

Sorry for the late comments Gary! Great stuff, great show.
QOTD: Jets:21 Pats:3

January 24 2009: Gary and I met and exchanged pictures with a wine rep. at the Boston Wine Expo. That happened right after my first taste of 2007 Chateuneuf Du Pape Domain Oliver Hillaire. To the critics below: don't be afraid of the 24 month vintage. Comparing all of the 2007 CDP offerings at the expo was the most fun you could have and still keep your pants on.
July 24 2009: We were at a tasting in Salem MA and enjoyed a Delas "Haute Pierre". Unlike the cranberries and blueberries Gary mentioned, this '07 CDP had more flowers and herbs. At this tasting, we happened to meet fans who just returned from the "Thunder Cruise".
Gary: Regardless of what happens on Sunday, the Pat's will be taking it all the way again this season. As in making good wine, this week's Patriot's success took more than just luck.

As a Pats fan, with all the smack the Jets have been talking the last two days, and Kris Jenkins treating week two like the Superbowl, I hope for the Jets' sake they DO win...otherwise they're gonna be pretty embarrassed.

I can't wait to see this so called superbowl performance. For the Pats, and everyone else in the NFL... it's just week 2. It's almost like the jets feel they need to prove something...

KISS THEM SUPERBOWL RINGS NEW YORK!

P.S. Didn't get a chance to watch the video today... but the still frame was enough to draw a comment. Good luck Sunday.

I haven't tried any '07 CDP yet, but at the first wine tasting I ever attended, I have had a '05 Domaine Du Banneret Chateauneuf du Pape which is one of my all-time favorite wines.

No guess on the Jets game cause I'm not a football person, sorry Gary. But I do hope they win because the show is even more high-spirited after a Jets victory.

I have had 10 different CdPs from 2007. I find them very drinkable even as young and the lower bound on their quality is quite high. My favourite 2007 CdPs so far are Domaine La Barroche Cuvée Pure, Domaine Cristia Vieilles Vignes and Domaine Giraud Les Grenaches de Pierre.

Chateauneuf Du Pape that I have had is the Domaine Berthet Rayne Chateauneuf Du Pape Fut de Chene. Good Stuff!!! Still needs some cellar time though. But you can tell.. For sure it will be VERY good!

Jets 31 NE 17

Sorry all you Pats fans, they just don't have it this year!!!

I can't find Crush It in my local book store (Ann Arbor Michigan)... besides Amazon, any thoughts Gary?

2007 was a great year!

I would recommend the following site for great wine reviews:

http://pardonthatvine.com

The guy that does the reviews is very knowledgeable and makes things fun... He's casual and has a great way of explaining and reviewing the wines.

I'm not sure what team he cheers for, but he's a wine-man all the way.

Cheers!

We don't have time for predictions here in NE. We look forward to facing your much improved team. We have only the greatest of respect for our beloved division rival.

"Blah blah blah" - Rex Ryan

"Blah blah blah" - Gary Vaynerchuk

"Talk is cheap" - Tom Brady

Nice wines, Gary.

Haven't had much opportunity to taste those brands, but it's nice to see a review.

GARY!!!
Woowhoo on 1st Crush It book!!
Hey...Love those wines & you...Oh! - & LOVE Marc Sanchez! :)

Happy Birthday Glen DiGirolamo! <-(Glen...Winecrazy.com) Gary, he was drinking some serious wine yesterday! ~Hope he remembers his promise to me for December! :)

QOTD: JETS!! 24 - 17

Love you too Gary!

great show... helps when the wines do their part but it's not necessary, no need to knock mott when he's not there though, come on wait til the giants lose. definitely pumped about the crush it cruise. sorry but i'm going to have to take the pats 17-14.

qotd - haven't had any 07's yet but after watching this episode i'm excited about the vintage. your question prompted one of my own though: if the 07 CDP's are performing this well, what do you think about the potential as SERIOUS value plays of other 07 southern rhones - gigondas, tavel, vacqueyras, and even the generic cotes du rhones? if so how about an episode about that?

Two things Gary,

First, great show! I'm just getting into it and love that I now have a way to be properly educated on wine. I've always been a fan of video blogs, but until now have never found one that interested me as much as yours.

Second, the Jets are not going to win this weekend. Sorry. 21-13 Pats. "Dismantling" the Texans was huge for you guys, but the key word there was Texans.

Jets Win 17-14.

I haven't had any 07 CDP. However, I am really excited about the vintage.

QOTD: Nope but am hopeful!!

Good luck Erin + Brian.

Gary,
Great show but more importantly, thanks for the shout out to my wife. I'm back in the Middle East for a couple of weeks to check out early from what was supposed to be a year long tour and will be back with her in early October as she starts chemotherapy. I feel helpless being on the other side of the world, but hopefully we can make a small difference by making people aware. Thanks again.

Brian Johnson

another good show

Serious show Gary, nice wines!

There is something that really bothers me about wine critics, especially Robert Parker: Every new vintage seem to be “the best of the last 30 years” just to create hype and sell more wine. Come on GV, we just been thru 6 good vintages in a very short period of time: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 especially for CDP. Even thou you sell wine; usually you are more of a critic than the critics themselves... I guess you are not in the system like them.

Keep being true to yourself GV, the Vaynernation is watching and hopping for that!

The question is: 2007 CDP is really better than the heralded 2005???

Best wishes,

Mauricio Fernandes.
Brazil.

Loved the MMA comparison, gary likes ufc?

QOTD1: nope

QOTD2: no idea

Last spring, I had the good fortune of tasting Domaine de la Janasse's 2007 lineup from the Côtes du Rhones to the Chateauneuf-du-Papes at the Wine Exposition in Paris. I was blown away by how good the entire 2007 reds were, especially by their 2007 CdP Chaupin. It was a WOW, Oh My God moment. I also tasted the more expensive Vielles Vignes cuvée, but I enjoy the Chaupin flavors much more. Tremendous density, intensity, length with an overwhelming variety of luscious flavors. It holds and holds in the mouth. Needless to say, as I am presently sipping a Janasse 2007 Côtes du Rhone, I will continue to watch for the Janasse wines in particular and affordable 2007 southern Rhone reds. If only they were on sale...

GREAT to see 2007 Southern Rhone tastings! 2007 Southern Rhone wines (GSM etc.)lean towards the fruit bomb side, in my opinion, which goes with the flow of Robert Parker's pronouncements of the best vintage he's seen in 30 years.

2007 Cotes du Rhone compared to 2005 lack spice, depth, and complexity, IMO.

However, kudos to the Grenache, the Southern Rhone, anyone who enjoys wine, GV, and the San Francisco Giants!

Sorry GV but Brady and the Pats still rule and will make a rookie QB look like, well like a rookie QB. As you stated good teams always find a way to win. Not a Patroits fan ( I am a Chicago Bears fan to the core) but you do have to respect the greatness of the Patriots as much as it may pain you.

No 2007 CDP yet. Have been stocking up on fantastic wines that the local distributor(s) have been dumping so once I am finished with that I will look into the CDP's.