wine of the week: parallele 45 côtes du rhône

Welcome to Parallele 45 Côtes du Rhône and thought I would give it a whirl.

No special occasion – is one really needed? Just an average Friday night with the fam, relaxing after a busy week.

I’m somewhat obsessed with Côtes du Rhônes and fantasize about traveling to France and touring all the vineyards.  It’s the only wine that has the affect on me for some reason. Possibly because of my French ancestry? It’s in my blood.

Cotes du Rhone Factoids:

• Cotes du Rhone is a regional appellation for red, rosé and white wines covering the length and breadth of the Rhone Valley in the south east of France.
• The Cotes du Rhone appellation was introduced in November 1937, to provide a catch-all title for Rhone wines of reasonable quality, but which come from less well-known viticultural areas.
• The principal red grapes permitted for use in Cotes du Rhone wines are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

For the most part I find Rhones very easy to drink. But of course not all Côtes du Rhônes are created equally. Like I mentioned last week, wine is a personal preference. What you may like, I may not like and vice versa. Many Côtes du Rhône reds provide great value (affordable, easy to drink and food friendly).

online.

Here’s where recommending wine gets tricky. Hubs thought the wine was fine (but he drinks anything). I found it to be spicy but had too much acidity drinking without food. Once we paired with lasagna it changed the taste and became more enjoyable to drink.

To summarize, if you’re interested in exploring Cotes du Rhone, Paul Jaboulet Aine Parallel 45 is a decent option. It’s not my favorite but it’s not terrible. There are definitely better options which I will be sharing very soon.

Sassy Tip: I recommend decanting the wine before serving. We use the Soiree Wine Decanter & Aerator.

Do you drink Côtes du Rhônes? We’d love to learn about your favorite wine. Comment below and we may just feature you and your wine on Wine of the Week.