The 2022 Cellier de Monterail Côtes du Rhône immediately earned points by having a back label that didn’t try to seduce me with poetry or whisper secrets about sun-drenched hillsides. It just told me what to expect in the bottle. Accurate. Informative. Honest. Frankly, I was a little suspicious—this is wine marketing, after all—but I appreciated not being emotionally manipulated before the cork was even out.
The wine itself was dangerously easy to drink. Medium puckeryishness (that’s tannins for people who don’t wear scarves indoors), solid flavor, and a nice jammy goodness without veering into cough-syrup territory. Smooth, balanced, and not trying to prove anything. The kind of wine that quietly disappears while you’re mid-conversation.
Case in point: I somehow crushed two glasses before my homemade tacos were even done. That’s not on me—that’s on the wine. Once the tacos finally showed up, the pairing was flawless. Like old friends who pick up right where they left off. No drama. No competition. Just vibes.
At $7.99, this bottle is a no-brainer. Easy, tasty, honest, and taco-friendly. I’d absolutely buy it again—and next time, I might start drinking it after the food is ready. Or not.
