The glory days of the Detroit Red Wings are long gone. The team that made the NHL playoffs for an amazing 25 years in a row has not seen post-season action in the last two campaigns, and after to a brutal 0-6-2 start in 2018-19, has rebounded to be playing .500 hockey as of this writing. No one is picking them to make post-season play, but at least they’re not “the Dead Wings” of old, and who’s to say that this mix of promising youngsters and seasoned veterans can’t overachieve and surprise the pundits.

And so, I thought it would be fun to tune into an early season game and relive some of the old “Red Wings and Red Rhones” days, complete with a fine Crozes-Hermitage, just like those days back in ‘97 when we got that tradition started here at Gang Central. Past vintages of this one, made by Maxime Graillot, son of the legendary Alain Graillot, have delivered all the goods, so I was interested in tasting what a more recent model has to offer.

2013 Domaine des Lises Crozes-Hermitage Équinoxe Maxime Graillot, 13% alc., $21.99: Deep and dark in color, and a little funky on the nose in a way that we like, with some barnyard over black plum, iodine and underbrush/garrigue. Very earthy on the palate (again, that’s a big plus in our notebook), with flavors that follow through enthusiastically on the promise of the nose. A substantial wine, well structured, as you’d expect, with plenty of tannins yet to resolve, but still approachable, especially with extended air. An hour in a decanter before pouring glasses of this is not a bad idea at all, so you can drink it now or tuck it away in the cellar for 7-10 years. This offers very good value for the price listed above, and we bought ours at Ferndale’s Western Market. Find this wine

Imported by Europvin U.S.A, Van Nuys, CA

Yes, the Red Wing’s glory days are gone, and they lost the game I watched whilst enjoying this big red. The only time you’ll see the likes of Yzerman, Federov, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Datsuk or Zetterberg will be in old-timers games. It’s kind of sad, even for a recovering sports junkie such as myself, but I’m not losing any sleep over it. We’ll have to wait to see what the future brings, with both the wine and the only team I still follow.

Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo

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