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.