A real sleeper of the vintage is Morel’s 2009 Cotes du Rhone-Villages Signargues. This dense plum/ruby wine exhibits loads of raspberry and black cherry fruit, medium body, and plenty of spice and earth. It should drink nicely for 3-4 years. (Not yet released) Pierre-Henri Morel, who works with Michel Chapoutier, has his own estate in the southern Rhone, and these wines all emerge from his holdings and/or purchases. Obviously, the 2008s have to take a backseat to the 2009 bottlings, but I thought the wines fared well for such a tough vintage. Importer: Paterno Imports, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900