Don't confuse La Part des Vivants with the tons of Côtes du Rhônes stacked hither and thither throughout your retail store of choice. Most CdR's you'll find are from the southern Rhône and based on Grenache. And though many are nice, drinkable wines, they couldn't be more different than this dark, northern counterpart comprised mostly of Syrah and sourced from the vineyard slopes around Ampuis. Northern Côte du Rhône expresses a much darker component of fruit flavors such as wild blackberry and plum while southern CdR's show more red fruit flavors like cherry and raspberry. Also from the north, cool weather Syrah reveals additional complexities like earthiness, smoke, gaminess and spice. We call La Part des Vivants our baby Côte Rôtie and we like to tell people that this wine offers a window, maybe a slight portal, to experiencing a hint of the flavors Côte Rôtie can offer but at an affordable price. Vivants is 70% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 10% Carignan. The wine is aged in older, neutral barrels and this helps to avoid oak influence better serving to round out textures in the wine. It has lovely, concentrated wild berry flavors, spices, dark chocolate and a slight earthiness. The acidity is acute and fresh allowing this ripe Syrah to dance on your tongue and pair so perfectly with nicely prepared food. What a great wine!