Domaine l'Espigouette Vieilles Vignes Cotes du Rhone, 2018

LEspigouette's Old Vines Cotes du Rhone is an old favorite. I bought a case of it nearly every year through the 1980s and 1990s when the price was $3, $4 or $5 a bottle. Since the price has gone up to $16 to $18 a bottle, my enthusiasm has waned...but was reignited with this bottle.

Beautiful, bright crimson red. Blueberries, strawberries, violets--the aromatics that brought me back to this wine year after year. Medium bodied, peppery structure, long finish. Every bit as good as the $4 wine I remember. That is not a backhanded compliment. When a Cotes du Rhone goes up in price, as this wine has, I usually assume that it has been matured in new oak to a degree that I don't appreciate. That is not the case here. If there has been any new oak maturation, it has not altered the aromas and flavors that I know and love. I will go back for more.