2010 Domaine de la Petite Cassagne - Costières de Nîmes

Costières de Nîmes is the most southerly appellation of the Rhone, and it speaks in a different voice from the others, both richer and crisper. Although clearly a Rhone wine, I find in good Costières de Nîmes what I also like in Burgundy and Bordeaux, a frank, freshness and fruity snap that even some of the more elite Rhone appellations, for all their ripeness, often have trouble expressing.  Domaine de la Petite Cassagne, from the portfolio of Washington’s own Robert “Bobby” Kacher, has made a delectable 2010, even better than the popular 2009. With its robust, mouth filling, fresh fruit, this wine is tailor made for the late summer and Labor Day barbecue grill.