Domaine Charvin usually puts out better than average wines. The Á Côté is their entry level, declassified type vin de pays wine that is supposed to be immediately accessible. In an effort to acquaint myself better with old world wines, I thought I’d give it a shot. For only $11 I expected a modest but decent wine. Instead I found it thin, tinny, backward and undrinkable. I don’t expect fruit bombs from this area but I do expect fruit in some capacity.
What a terrible experience! To say I was disappointed in this wine would be a gross understatement. I used about a cup out of the bottle to deglaze my pork chops and that was essentially the best use of it. Even Jeff thought it tasted bad. I might try another one down the road in case it was just an off bottle; but my gut tells me this is just a big strikeout for a usually reputable Rhône producer.