2005 Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone

Last week's final wine before heading to Pensacola for Greek Easter (more on that later) was a Cotes du Rhone from a lesser-known but very good producer, Alain Jaume. I've had the Chateauneuf du Pape from Grand Veneur as well as their Cotes du Rhone, and typically have been very pleased with them. The 2005 was a bit of a mystery though. Very dark and brooding, it never really seemed to show off all it had. It's not tannic, but the fruit just doesn't really come out like I'd expect. Even on the second night, it was just not willing to show everything that I think it really could. It wasn't bad at all, just didn't quite deliver everything I thought it could. Perhaps it needs a little bottle time to really hit its peak, as Parker gave it 89 points, and it seems to have the stuffing to do so. I'll have to get another bottle and give it 6 months or so to see how it fares.