Lest my friends think that I have forsaken wine for spirits, here are a few stunning wines from the lovely south of France…

The Rhone Valley has been blessed with a string of great vintages going back to 1998, with the possible exception of 2002… Well, the crop of 2009 wines hitting the market has been wonderful – reminiscent of the 1998 vintage but with less tannic structure – Here are some of my favorite Cotes du Rhone beauties:

2009 Domaine La Garrigue Cuvee Romaine

2009 Saint Cosme

2009 Montirus

2009 Domaine de la Janasse

2009 Domaine La Remejeanne Les Arbousiers

(Originally posted on Facebook: June 26, 2011)