"I'm just a Côtes du Rhône drinker," my friend Christoph told me, winking slightly with one eye. In fact, I don't know why the Côtes du Rhône has something slightly disparaging or "disreputable" for many wine lovers, a mass wine just, at least not worth mentioning, unless they come from a famous winery or certain municipalities (for example Gigondas), but then they are just no longer "ordinary" Côtes du Rhône. I think it is rather the differentiation from the "nobler" and more expensive Châteauneuf-du-Pape that weighs down the reputation of the "ordinary" Côtes du Rhône. Also, there are still many mass wines running under this general designation of origin, which are really not worth mentioning. Not so this Côtes du Rhône by Ogier, one of the oldest wine estates, nota bene in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Sure, it is not necessarily the top wine of the renowned winery. But an excellent wine: Grenache accentuated (60%), with a lot of Syrah (30%) and some Cinsault. Though nearly four years old, it still has much of the youthful fruit of a Syrah, the peppery notes 
just announcing themselves. The wine is lively and full of character, especially on the palate, so the memory lingers well into the finish. Previously I had only known the idiosyncratic Côtes du Ventoux from the same house, which gives much of the serene, wild beauty of the mountain made so famous by the Tour de France. The Oratorio is far quieter, perhaps calmer, a little less incisive, with a soft body and plenty of volume and melt. At 14.5%vol alcohol - it should be a good 15% - it's a little too heavily laden. Even as a companion for roast and steak too stressed, too independent: a little more cheerful, then, it might be. I quoted my friend: "I'm just a Côtes du Rhône drinker", and winked playfully with the other eye. Yes, I am also a Côtes du Rhône drinker. Not just since today - but since today even more.