This week, we’ve been enjoying a lovely red wine from the central-southern part of France. This is a very affordable wine with a beautiful, eye catching label (and story) that we think you will truly enjoy as a casual sipping wine for a weeknight meal.

Keep reading on to learn what you need to know about this wine.

2021 Halos de Jupiter Côtes-du-Rhône

This week, with our selection, we are headed to the Rhône Valley in southern France. The Rhône Valley wine region is rather large and vast, especially the southern Rhône Valley, which is where this week’s wine hails from. As such, it is important to recognize the value that a strong producer brings to the table when buying wines from this region….which is precisely what is happening in this bottle!

What does this wine cost?

$18.95; a really nice price point for a wine of this quality and depth.

What grape variety(ies) are in this wine?

This wine is what is known as a “GSM blend”, which is the quintessential wine style that is found in the Southern Rhône Valley when it comes to red wines. This is especially true of the Côtes du Rhône appellation (also referred to as “AOC”). The specific blend in this wine is: 75% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah.

Where does this wine come from?

As noted, this wine is from the Côtes-du-Rhône AOC, which is an appellation that covers the entire Southern Rhône Valley, a vast tract of land that spreads out like a fan on either side of the Rhône River. It is worth noting that the appellation technically covers the Northern Rhône Valley as well; however, practically speaking, the grapes for wines from this appellation almost exclusively come from the Southern Rhône Valley.

Technically speaking, the grapes used in this wine may be sourced from anywhere within the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation, which covers 171 communes, over 30,000 hectares and a vast array of soil types, exposures, elevations and inclines.

Why is this wine unique?

This is a well nice every day wine, made by a quality focussed reputable producer. It has a really nice philosophical story behind its branding and an eye catching label to match. It looks lovely in photos (for the wine drinkers who love to take photos of their bottles and post them on social media!), intriguing on the dinner table and enticing as a gift.

Who makes this wine?

This wine is produced by Gassier Family who also own Domaine Gassier, an award winning estate in the south of France. Originally a joint venture partnership, Halos de Jupiter wines are now exclusively made by Famille Gassier.

A few Wine Geek “essential facts” about the wine (feel free to skip this if you don’t care about detailed wine-making information!):

Grape Variety - 75% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah

Grapes - destemmed but not crushed

Soils - fruit is sourced from a variety of terroirs

Fermentation - Temperature controlled, approx. 5 weeks at 28 degrees Celsius or less

Maceration - manual pigeage during fermentation

Maturation - Grenache in concrete, Syrah in old wood

Finishing - the wine is neither fined nor filtered

ABV - 15%

Residual Sugar - 5 g/L

Wineitupanotch tasting notes:

A medium ruby in the glass, this wine presents elevated notes of red and black cherries, black tea, red plums, blackcurrant leaf and a faint hint of smokiness. It is largely a fruit-forward wine which a red berry core encased in darker fruit and herb notes. The wine delivers a medium finish and medium tannins alongside noteworthy depth for a Cótes-du-Rhône, which can often tend to be a bit skimpy in their mouthfeel and generic in their taste profile. At this price point, this wine offers good value and quality and it is clear that it has been crafted with precision and care.

Aging potential:

This wine will age and continue to improve over the next 3-5 years.

Recommendations to Wineitupanotch:

Pair this wine with casual weekday meals. We think it would be particularly satisfying with pasta with a tomato ragu sauce or red bell peppers stuffed with wild rice and mushrooms.

Wineitupanotch Wine Score: 89 points

This wine is a good quality, crowd pleasing wine. It is well priced and there is attention to detail and quality in its construction.

FINAL VERDICT:

Buy more than one. You’ll likely come back to this wine again and again when you want to drink something that is easy going and affordable but is not lacking in quality or presence.

If you’ve tried this wine already, or decide to pick it up and try it after reading this post, we’d love to hear from you and hear what you think of it! Please do drop us a line.

Until next time, wishing you love, light and of course - good wine!……

Cheers…..XOXO