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The 2000 La Montagnette is a Cotes du Rhone that was made for importer Dan Kravitz of Hand Picked Selections by one of the better cooperative in France's Rhone Valley in the town of Estezargues. It's mostly Grenache, with some Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignan in the blend from what I recall. It has aged exceedingly well and was not at all in danger of going over the hill yet.
Loads of bright and sour cherry flavor, some hints of raspberry and notes of black raspberry were the dominant flavors. The wine also had a slight chalky flavor in the base, but was very smooth. It has been years since I last opened a bottle of this and I was very pleased to see that what I thought this wine would become has indeed occurred. In many ways it is a very compact Gigondas or Sablet in style. It has that rustic base style of winemaking that I so enjoy from the Rhone Valley that one wonders why more wines of this type are not as popular vs. the overhyped high scoring wines.
Some people may never learn that scores and price in wines don't alway correspond to enjoyment.
