Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Les Meysonniers 2016 (SKU 131078, WS 93 pts., $34.49 tax included)
I read about this wine in an article in the Vancouver Sun a couple of months back. When I visited the LDB stores then, they had the 2017 vintage. I tried it and it was not impressive. Then earlier this week I saw the 2016 vintage at the Cambie and 39th store. I checked the Wine Spectator rating again to confirm that it was indeed rated at 93 points. I opened it last night to pair with some home cooked Chinese food. The colour was a very pleasing garnet. The nose was not bad and there were a lot of tannins. Then tonight my executive chef prepared some duck breasts and used the wine to make a sauce. I drank the leftover wine with the dish. The nose tonight was much more intense with obvious dark berries. The palate had a spicy taste and the finish was medium long. It paired really well with the duck breast. Crozes-Hermitage was one of the Northern Rhone wine regions producing economical wines. The grape was 100% syrah. This would be the same grape as the Australian shiraz. The way the French (old world) made their wines was very different from the Australians (new world). I personally preferred the Rhone wines since they were more subtle and they expressed themselves slowly over time. There is adequate stock in most of the LDB stores but make sure you check the vintage before buying.
