Domaine Amido is exactly the type of wine producer we love to sell. It’s family owned and run and all of the work in the vineyard and cellar is done with intention and attention to detail. Run for years by the chain smoking Christian Amido, the estate is now operated by Christian’s daughter and grand daughter, Nathalie and Amandine, with winemaking handled by Amandine’s fiancé Antoine. Wines like this one are why I do what I do. In the words of my friend Alison E. Smith, “it’s up to me and only me to make what I can of my life, I’m driven because I am so very thankful that I’m not sitting in a boring office pushing paper around just to please a boss or stock price, I’m able to help a far greater cause. By selling wine like I do I’m actually helping families – families who plant the vines, make the wines and create a product that needs to be sold to keep their world going. Fear of letting them all down, if I’m not doing my job well it means they don’t get paid…this gets me up in the morning”.
The family has substantial holdings in the region of Lirac, just west of Chateauneuf du Pape, and the vineyards here share many of the same characteristics as those found in Chateauneuf. The vineyards here are studded with galets (rounded rocks) that stress the vine and hold heat well and the resulting wines tend to be full, spicy and robust. The 2011 Cotes du Rhone Villages is exactly that, a full bodied red abounding in flavors and aromas of ripe cherry/black cherry, raspberry and strawberry with a good bit of peppery spice and grilled herb on the finish. It offers great immediate gratification and will continue to do so for the next 3-4 years. Stop by our free tasting this Saturday to try this one out. Sale pricing is good for 2 weeks! Please mention that you saw the sale pricing via the newsletter or website to save!