A turn-around effort, the 2006 Cotes du Rhone St.-Esprit possesses a deep ruby/purple color along with plenty of spice, pepper, and black fruit characteristics. This great northern Rhone negociant, spearheaded by their brilliant oenologist and winemaker, Jacques Grange, has consistently made fabulous wines from the northern appellations, but only recently upgraded the quality of their southern Rhone selections. These are the finest southern Rhones they have made, and their Cotes du Rhone St.-Esprit ranks alongside the offerings from Guigal and Chapoutier.Importer: Maison Marques et Domaines, Oakland, CA; tel. (510) 587-2000