RIDEAU 2007 GRENACHE
Type: Dry red
Made With: Grenache
Plays Well With: Cheeses, rich sauces.
Grenache Is one of the main component grapes in wines from the Rhone Valley in France. It’s the G in GSM that you’ll sometimes see on bottles: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre. And with Rhone-style wines getting pretty popular these days, so is grenache. Usually the grape makes a soft fruity wine – one of the reasons you’ll find it paired up with the heftier mourvedre or as part of another blend. But as the Rideau 2007 proves, it makes a very nice wine on its own.
The nose on this one has hints of spices such as clove and nutmeg. Once you sip, there are generous acids and good tannins in the mouth, so your mouth will water and your palate will dry out both at the same time. That’s called balance. The acids make this wine play well with creamy cheeses or any number of rich sauces. The tannins give some weight in the mouth (not something you find that often with grenache). And, yes, there is the famous grenache fruitiness – in this case, think berry patch, with strawberry and raspberry notes.