WTN: 2007 Texier Cote du Rhone Brezeme

WTN: 2007 Eric Texier Cote du Rhone Brezeme 12.0%
Our first Texier. Good quality natural cork. Bottleneck aroma was muted, so decanted for an hour. In the glass, elegant dark cherry and tar, with some chalkiness and vitamin B complex. Tastes saline, with good acidity and density and a pleasantly tart finish. Not multi-layered, but tasty and without flaws. A good expression of CdR, but not enough to understand the buzz surrounding Texier. So tonight we'll raise the stakes and take his 06 Domaine de Pergault V.V. to the scaffold.

A good expression of CdR, but not enough to understand the buzz surrounding Texier. So tonight we'll raise the stakes and take his 06 Domaine de Pergault V.V. to the scaffold.

That will definitely raise the stakes, although it still may not explain the buzz which at times may seem quite hyped on these boards. The wines are very good, and nice expressions of the grapes and terroirs, but don't expect DRC/Chave/Whomever-like revelations.

The one time I had the Brezeme Pergault, I preferred the regular cuvee. It may have only been that vintage (I don't remember which, but either the 05 or the 06). Unusually for a Texier, I found the Pergault too fat.

I like Texier, but I agree with Rahsaan that he is overhyped. His wines taste reliably like where they come from and often have interesting elements to them. On the other hand, because he distinctly wants Southern Rhones that are more elegant than big, he sometimes just gets austere, as happened with a 99 CdP I tasted recently.

[David M. Bueker]

If the Cotes du Rhone wines can be gotten for a good price I consider them excellent values. They aren't much beyond that though.

I'd contest the idea that Texier wines as overhyped, because it's hard to see them as hyped. I think most of the people I know/read with tastes similar to mine regard the wines as honest, food-friendly, etc. He obviously aims for higher acids than most Rhone producers, of course. I think of wines as hyped (over is a matter of personal perception) such as Pegau, Donnhoff, Keller, Carlisle, SQN, etc. Where there are people who regard them as the ne plus ultra of their genre. I don't see that kind of hype/evangelism for Texier. I regard them as very good and good value, but never tend to go ga-ga (actually the best score I ever gave to a Texier was for a Macon!)

Buzz gradually escalated into hyped, and then overhyped, but 'tis only buzz...

I've always found his wines to be balanced, never over the top, good acid, go well with food, never blockbusters. Why would anyone expect a Cotes du Rhone to make you go wow?

Why would anyone expect a Cotes du Rhone to make you go wow?

When the amount of buzz makes me go wow, I always wonder if the wine might also make me go wow. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't; part of the fun in wine is checking if tips from people whose experience you respect pan out.

[David M. Bueker]

I think some of the buzz comes from Eric being an occasional wine discussion participant elsewhere (and no, not on eBob). The rest of the buzz is that someone is (thankfully) still making Rhone wines that frequently stay below 14% alcohol.

One has to distinguish between his Southern Rhone CdRs, which tend to be nice, reasonably priced wines in a different style that can age well, but, which by themselves, would never create hype and his Brezeme, Hermitage and Cote Roties, which I find generally more impressive. In its initial releases, back in the late 90s, the Brezeme was pretty stunning and fairly inexpensive, genuine Northern Rhone Syrah. I think that has been true of the Brezeme basic in the past couple of years as well. If one thinks of its competition as Croze-Hermitages that now cost $30-40 a bottle, I think it is far better than the talk on this thread has indicated.

I agree he is overhyped, however, which just shows that enthusiasts of hipster wines can go over the top just as much as enthusiasts of Parker points.