Alain Paret
Côtes-du-Rhône Valvigneyre
2007
13.5% ABV | Price: about $15
Inky red-black, this wine smells like violets and black pepper and a raspberry patch in full sun. It’s 100% syrah, with a savory, meaty core underneath aromatic herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary). On the palate I find some lovely red fruits: currant, raspberry, cranberry. It has a drying finish and (mercifully) no forward oak. Age-worthy. A steal.