INSIDER'S PICK: 2018 LE PIGEOULET VIN DE PAYS DE VAUCLUSE $19.99

At a time like this, it's pretty much impossible to be 'normal'. But it is important to try and keep what you can as close to normal as you can while you can. Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

Most high end wineries don't specialize in just the expensive stuff, usually finding ways to spread their expertise into the more everyday wine realm. Often they will reinvest into lesser known growing areas nearby where the vineyards are less expensive and the potential is less explored, making the perfect opportunity to both create a quality money making value AND raise the perception of an area. The Brunier family, famed for their long time ownership of  iconic estate Vieux Telegraphe in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, have been producing this wine from a blend of sites across the Rhone and Ventoux regions for over 30 years, sourcing and purchasing vineyards that have the materials to make a value wine that still carries the traditional characters found in their estate wines. Primarily Grenache with varying percentages of Syrah, Carignan, Mourvedre, and Cinsault depending on the vintage, this speaks of the intensity of the Rhone but also shows off impressive elegance and subtlety for the more patient drinkers. Deep dark fruits abound on the nose, especially when first opened, but gets wilder and savory as it opens up with loads of earth and herbs emerging. With much of the aging and fermentation happening in cement tanks, there is more of a natural fullness to the texture, mouth filling but not heavy or overly saturated. allowing the multi-layered plum, raspberry and black cherry fruit to mingle with the roasted game and savory. It's like a well cooked game bird was distilled down into bottle form, which is a classic Rhone wine character born from using all grape varieties at their disposal. Blends like this are great gateways into trying the traditional Chateauneuf producers, and ideal for cellaring on the cheap or enjoying over several hours.

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