Paul Jaboulet Parallele 45 Cote du Rhone

On a recent trip to my local discount wine emporium I found a very good Cote du Rhone that may rival the Perrin & Fils that is currently listed in my favorites box.  Seeing that the price was right and knowing I have had great success with lighter style French red wines, I decided that I probably couldn’t go wrong in purchasing this bottle.  Paul Jaboulet Aine Parallele 45 Cote du Rhone 2007 from France is medium bodied and slightly dry.  A blend of 60% grenache and 40% syrah, it had a pretty deep red color with a sweet, caramel and berry nose.  The wine is fruit forward at first with notes of blackberry and cherry and had a great spicy finish that I love in my red wines.  I think it had nice depth given the 14% alcohol and I experienced some mild tannins.  Paul Jaboulet produces this wine from 25 year old vines and ages it in stainless steel tanks.  I find Cote du Rhone to pair well with just about any dish from meat and fish to Indian and Thai cuisines.  This wine was rated 88 points from Wine Spectator and retails for under $12.