Sablet

Ah, the Rhône, that region of France from whence my favorite wines come. And a locale in the Southern Rhône that I am finding intriguing is the appellation Côte du Rhône Villages.

One of the villages in this area is Sablet, which interestingly was lucky enough during the Plague to be spared, escaping the disease virtually untouched.

Among the producers there is Domaine de Piaugier, whose Sablet Rouge is a blend of just Grenache and Syrah. The wine has received erratic scores over the years, everywhere from the mid 70s to the mid 80s. Apparently, the producer is better known for its Gigondas, which is regularly of higher quality, according to Parker.

The 2007 was good, but unremarkable in my view. The nose was delicious, but when tasted, there just wasn’t any follow-through. It wasn’t awful at $15, but I probably won’t buy from this producer again.

I rate this with a 6.5 using my scale at the left.