It was almost like old times as Adam Oates scored the winning goal in Detroit’s 4-2 win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, giving the Red Wings 4 out of a possible 6 points in their season opening west coast road trip.

The only glitch was that Oates was wearing a Mighty Ducks uniform.

It was one of the more rare occurrences in hockey; the referee had just raised his arm to indicate a Detroit penalty, so Anaheim netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere skated towards his bench to allow for an extra Duck on the pond.  Oates then sent the puck from deep in the Detroit zone towards where he thought one of his defensemen should have been...

...but wasn’t.  Brendan Shanahan was given credit for the goal, having been the last Red Wing to touch the puck, giving him 2 tallies in the game.

The boys may have won this one without the benefit of much Red Rhône mojo, as this evenings selections were only so-so.

2000 Domaine de l’Enclos Côtes du Rhône, $9.99, 13% alc.: This pretty dark garnet shows a nice black cherry, plum and licorice nose, with hints of garrigue, vanilla and what Kim describes as "pine pitch;" flavors follow through with soft tannins, good acidity and a decent finish.  According to the back label, this is Robert Kacher’s and André Brunel’s vision of a "House wine," and it serves well enough in that regard I suppose, but it’s a little too bright for my tastes.  I’d like something a little deeper and darker.   

Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.

2000 Domaine Andre Brunel Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Sommelongue, $10.99, 14% alc.: Another pretty dark garnet with a stingy nose of vanilla, cherry and plum, along with like flavors that are rather more expressive.  Again, it’s not too tannic, with good acidity and a decent finish, and like the l’Enclos, it seems to be made for American palates. 

Pleasant wines both, and easy to drink, but so what?  Give me some depth of fruit and complexity.

Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C.

  3 Great QPR Côtes du Rhônes

2000 Domaine Saint Gayan Côtes du Rhône, $9.99, 13.5% alc.: I looked at this ruby dark garnet all summer long whenever I visited my friends at Merchant’s Fine Wine in Royal Oak before finally taking the plunge a few weeks into hockey season, and I’m glad I did. (I’m also glad they have plenty left!) It has a nice blackberry, black cherry, plum and cola bouquet shaded with hints of leather and garrigue.  The big rich flavors echo loudly, turning somewhat earthy and stemmy on the long finish.  It needs at least 2-3 years to lose the tannins, and yet it’s already drinking well with some air and some grilled haunch of beast, or just a good hockey game.  Excellent QPR here!

Imported by Europvin U.S.A., Oakland, CA

2001 Domaine de la Mordorée Côtes du Rhône, $10.99, 13% alc.: The rich, dense blackberry, black cherry and plum flavors and aromas of this dark garnet have an almost cough syrup-like density, and in this case, it’s a good thing!  It’s surprisingly approachable, with toned down tannins, good acidity and a nice, somewhat earthy finish.  It shows excellent QPR, and we’ve popped more than a few of these, even on nights when there’s no game.

Imported by Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd., Winchester, VA

2000 Domaine d’Andezon Côtes du Rhône, $9.99, 14% alc.: The latest version of this old friend is a dark, almost inky garnet, with dark berries, plum, milk chocolate and a hint of garrigue on the nose.  These follow through on the palate, where the garrigue overtakes and surpasses the chocolate, and tastes more like a bona fide Rhône than an international wannabe.  There’s at least a few years worth of tannins here, along with good acidity, and more and more garrigue comes out with air, along with some leathery nuances.  It might be the best vintage of this in the last 3 or 4 years; whatever the case, I went back for more!

An Eric Solomon/European Cellars Selection - Imported by European Cellars Direct, New York, NY

Wait! There's more!

2000 Mélodie d’Amour Côtes du Rhône, $14.99, 13.5% alc.: This deep dark garnet is rather stingy with its black currant, blackberry and chocolate aromatics, but the flavors pick it up nicely, with big fruit, good tannins and acidity and a nice finish.  Rich, almost lush on the palate, this should improve over the next 2 or 3 years anyway, and while I normally prefer to spend about $10 on good CdR, this one’s worth the extra 5 spot.

Imported by A French Paradox, Inc., Peoria, IL

2000 Clos de l’ Hermitage Côtes du Rhône, $19.99, 14% alc.: From the folks at Château de Segries, this deep dark garnet is just shy of inky, and while the dark fruit, mocha, cola nose doesn’t exactly jump out of the glass, they do follow through and make a big splash on the palate, where some smoky nuances come out with air.  Dense and chewy, and earthy on the finish, this has at least 5 years worth of tannins to shed, along with its good acidity.  Despite its youth, there’s just a ton of flavor here, and it’s surprisingly approachable.  This is some serious Red Wings - Red Rhônes mojo, and well worth the tariff.

Imported by Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd., Winchester, VA

2000 Chateau de Segries Côtes du Rhône, $9.99, 13.5% alc.: Unfortunately, this ruby dark garnet falls somewhat short of the Clos de l’ Hermitage in quality, maybe more so than the price difference might indicate.  It features fairly bright raspberry, strawberry, plum flavors and aromas gussied up with noticeable sweet oak, being somewhat perfumed, and with an earthiness that comes out more towards the finish.  It’s not too tannic and has good acidity, and while it’s not a bad wine per se, it’s a little too bright and a little too simple for my tastes.  In other words, it’s boring.

Imported by Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd., Winchester, VA

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By Bastardo

2000 Domaine de l’Enclos Côtes du Rhône

2000 Domaine Andre Brunel Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Sommelongue

2000 Domaine Saint Gayan Côtes du Rhône

2001 Domaine de la Mordorée Côtes du Rhône

2000 Domaine d’Andezon Côtes du Rhône

2000 Mélodie d’Amour Côtes du Rhône

2000 Clos de l’ Hermitage Côtes du Rhône

2000 Chateau de Segries Côtes du Rhône

Part 1

2000 Feraud-Brunel Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne

1999 Feraud-Brunel Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau

1999 Domaine la Soumade Rasteau

1995 Château de l’ Isolette Côtes du Luberon

2000 Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage Cuvee Gaby

2000 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes-Hermitage "Les Jalets

1997 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf du Pape

2000 Plan Pégau