WTN: Gangloff 1996 Côte-Rôtie "La Barbarine"

[Robin Garr]

<table border="0" align="right" width="160"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/graphics1/gang0105.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr></table>Mathilde et Yves Gangloff 1996 Côte-Rôtie "La Barbarine" ($29.99)

Ruby, dark but not opaque, a touch of bronze at the rim. Leather, plums, grilled meat and bacon, all the good funky qualities of Cote-Rotie. Good fruit and smoky bacon notes on the palate, properly acidic, and a fine match with locally produced, grass-fed lamb chops. Not much tannin, and distant nutlike nuances hint at incipient oxidation, suggesting that it shouldn't be cellared much longer. But I wasn't expecting much from this wine, purchased on a bin-end sale a couple of years ago with dubious storage history before and passive storage since. U.S. importer: Kysela Pere et Fils Ltd., Winchester, Va. (Jan. 5, 2007)