A very special Côtes-du-Rhône (to pop on a whim)
Pricing is available while supplies last.
SALE CLOSES MONDAY, JULY 28, 2025, at noon.
ALL WINES ARE AVAILABLE FOR PICKUP starting THURSDAY, July 31
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Simply, a great little wine at a fantastic price
This week’s Friday offer is short and sweet (well, actually it’s dry … sorry, couldn’t help trying to make the joke).
You may know how much I love the Rhône. It’s the first European region I fell head over heels in love with, both the Northern and Southern versions. I’ve followed the Rhône closer than other regions for my entire wine career, always trying to capture the magic of the early days when I opened some of my first Grenache and Syrah-based beauties from these regions.
There was one wine, in particular, from the late 1990s that I can still recall tasting. I’ve been pounding my head trying to remember what it was, and I’m sure as soon as I hit SEND on this offer, it will pop back to me, but in the meantime, let me take you back to circa 1999.
I was working at Surdyk’s as a wine consultant, and I was very proud of my job. I saw the impact I could have when I led great customers to great wines. As part of our job, we picked three to eight wines every day to taste as a team. I grabbed that new Côtes du Rhône and popped the cork.
It was magical, perfect, and everything I wanted in a fun little Côtes du Rhône. Raspberries, pepper, mellow menthol edges, power but with finesse, in other words, ALL THE THINGS. If social media existed at the time, I would have been all over Instagram with gushing praise and hashtags galore.
This wine offered today is as close as I’ve come to that moment.
About the producer
Mas de Boislauzon is best known for its Châteauneuf-du-Pape production. I haven’t had their CdP for over ten years, but I still remember a freshness and brightness that few others had at the time.
Family-owned and operated, with only 8 acres in CdP and an additional 15 in Côtes-du-Rhône, they are best known for their purity and balance.
They have several advantages in their favor.
Just north of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the land returns to Côte du Rhône status.
That’s where these grapes are from.
This wine is, basically, Châteauneuf-du-Pape at a great price. Their Côtes du Rhône holdings are a little sliver of land NORTH of Châteauneuf, full of the big stones (gallets) that CdP is best known for.
Old vines. The average age of the vines in this wine is 70 years old. That’s no longer easy to find.
No herbicides or pesticides, ever. The family is now farming biodynamically as well.
Old-school mindset. Concrete tank fermentations. No new oak. Pure expression of fruit. Hahza!
Not just Grenache. This wine is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre, and 5% Carignan. It is evident in the wine’s structure.
My tasting note
A terrific Côtes-du-Rhône, in my humble opinion, is about love. The warm embrace, the lack of hard edges, the comfort that comes when love is in the air. If that sounds like a bunch of shit/hyperbole, that’s fine. It’s how I honestly feel. Give me a sec to wipe my tears.
Waves of raspberry and cherry, a touch of menthol, a leathery earthiness, and a peppery finish, perfectly medium bodied. Not light, not heavy. It’s everything I want a wine like this to be, and then some.
The only key? Serve it at the right temperature. Chill it down just a bit, and enjoy at 55-60 degrees. (A half hour in the fridge from room temp, or a half hour out of the fridge from chilled, will do it.) Enjoy this gem with good cheese, olive oil, and bread.
Jason Kallsen
Sommelier and founder/owner of Twin Cities Wine Education
Offer and special pricing are available as inventory lasts