WBW #19: When in Rhone

So here we are - Wine Blogging Wednesday. I'm still a little nervous, this being my first time all. We stuck with France because we tend to drink heavily Aussie and California/Washington wines. France is still new to us.

Vintage: 2003
Type: Red
Producer: Domaine La Remejeanne
Varietal: Grenache Blend
Designation: Les Arbousiers
Country: France
Region: Rhone/Southern Rhone
Appellation: Cotes du Rhone

If you want to know how it tastes, you really need to click the link to read more. 

Purchase Info: our local Party Town, recommended by their great Wine Guy, JP. I think it was about $15.99 or so.
Since it was a French bottle, the label deciphering was the hard part for me. Now, on to the good stuff.
I was oddly craving comfort food yesterday, so we broke out the fried chicken and sides. Now, wine and fried chicken do not necessarily go well together, but this wasn't bad. We mostly drank the wine after dinner though, and throughout the evening.
Sight: This was a lovely ruby red.
Smell: There was a bit of dark cherry wafting out of the glass. That was followed by some green pepper, which surprised me and made me nervous, not being a pepper girl and all.
Taste: When we first cracked opened the bottle, I thought it was dry and peppery and I wasn't too thrilled. However, as the bottle sat open, the wine literally opened up. There were more cherries and a small bit of fruit in the taste, almost dark grape-y, for lack of better words. The pepper mellowed and let the other tastes step forward.

Overall Impression: A nice strong wine. I'd love to let a bottle like this age for a year or two and see what happens. It had a very distinct finish, with cherries, and I loved the way the wine mellowed over the course of the evening. It was a good introduction to the Rhone style of wine. I can't wait to try others.
Our score (1-10): 7.75
Other: This bottle was recommended by JP, our Wine Guy at the local store. But we played around with Goats Do Roam, from South Africa. I need to find out if it's just craftily named or actually created in the Rhone style. Kevin, on the other hand, just had fun calling our wine Coats Do Roam to see how frustrated it would make me. ;-)

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