St. Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone 2011

St. Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone 2011 (WS90, $19.99, SKU 241224) I ran into the current release of this fine wine last week at the LDB store and decided to try it again. The 2007 vintage was a big hit and subsequent vintages showed consistent quality. Cotes-du-Rhone is like the entry level for wines produced from the Rhone region in France. The unique thing about this wine is that it was fermented in stainless steel barrels, no oak. This wine was also produced with a single variety of grape, namely Syrah. So you would be tasting the fruit without the oaky addition. This one was ready to drink and had a fruity nose. There was not much tannins, so it was not meant for cellaring. Wine Spectator suggested it was ready for consumption from 2012. It went well with Chinese food and was generally a very versatile wine. There is ample stock in the LDB stores except it was sold out at 39th & Cambie.

Baron Nathaniel Pauillac 2009

Baron Nathaniel Pauillac 2009 ($28.99 SKU 167163) I saw this new offering at the 39th & Cambie LDB store last week and wanted to see what it was all about. I noticed that it was labelled as "Pauillac", which meant that the grapes had to be grown in the Pauillac region (Lafite, Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Lynch Bages etc.). Most entry level wines were label as "Bordeaux Superieur", which meant the wine was made from any grape grown in the Bordeaux region. Since 2009 was a good vintage and the grapes were from a single appelation, I figured that it was worth a try at this price. There was no Wine Spectator rating on it. When opened, it had the usual Pauillac nose and initial taste: earthy and mineral. I could not make out the pencil shaving nose but there was definitely something familiar. It went well with some beef and chicken dishes. Understanding that this was a  very inexpensive Bordeaux wine, I did not expect too much. After about an hour, the wine started to lose the complexity. At this price, it would be a great everyday drinking food wine. There are 73 bottles in the 39th & Cambie store only in the Lower Mainland.