A week in the Northern Rhone

What could be better than a week’s vacation to the Northern Rhone to taste wine? By chance our timing coincided with the Fetes des Lumieres celebration in Lyon and the Marche aux Vins Chavanay, which gave us the opportunity to experience some French festivities during our stay.

Some thoughts & tips if you are planning a trip to the region:

-It is critical to make appointments in advance. Most of the domaines can be reached via email, although responses can be somewhat slow. I sent all my emails in french (using google translate) but made them aware that we were english speakers. I probably had a 60% success rate - so consider sending a larger number of requests than you may actually have time to visit.

-We did a range of visits - small domaines where you meet the winemaker and taste directly with them in the cave and then larger domaines where they have a formal tasting room/retail shop with dedicated staff. Since we were looking for a broad sample, it was good to experience both. However the most memorable experiences were the personal ones with the winemakers themselves - so be sure to include some of these in your itinerary.

-Restaurants are small and meals are an important part of French culture, so they tend to be fully committed both at lunch and dinner. Be sure to reserve in advance - most have websites that allow you to reserve on line.

-The wine lists at restaurants tend to have much younger vintages than we expected, I think the oldest wine we saw was a 2003, but the majority were within the past few vintages. After tasting young syrah all day - we were really searching out bottles with a bit more age.

-I found it very difficult to get information on driving services in advance of our trip. Our hotel (Hotel 2 Coteaux) arranged a taxi for us for the week and the service was excellent and the price reasonable. We would highly recommend Taxi Marie Odile based on our experience. They gave us a rate for the week and then worked around our tasting schedule which had us moving around quite a bit. Please PM me for contact details.

-Hotel 2 Coteaux was a great base location in Tain l'Hermitage. Managed by the very energetic Pascal and his wife. The hotel is clean, our room was pretty spacious with a balcony overlooking the bridge across the Rhone. It is quite basic but comfortable - although Pascal told us they are planning a refresh of the rooms in the spring. They also serve a breakfast buffet and hot breakfast cooked to order each day, which was useful before heading out to taste.

-If you want a bit more luxury, closer to Ampuis - La Pyramide in Vienne has very modern, elegantly appointed rooms - and is about a 15 minute drive from Ampuis.

-Friends of our gave us advice to bring small gifts to each of our visits and we are glad that we did. It was nice to share a local product from our home with these winemakers who were being so generous with their time and their wines.

Fetes des Lumieres - Lyon

Our trip started with two nights in Lyon for the Fetes des Lumieres- we had various wines with meals and back at the hotel. Found a great little wine store across the street from our hotel called Antic Wines - if you find yourself in Lyon.

The Fetes des Lumières is a tradition that dates back to the middle ages and was originally started to gives thanks the Virgin Mary (Merci Marie) for ending the Black Death (plague). It began with lit candles all around the town of Lyon and has grown into a four day festival of light shows featuring artists from across the world. Each of the major squares across the city feature a different show - they tend to last about 5 minutes and then you make your way to the next feature. It was really a terrific event, although the Friday night was a bit less crowded than Saturday which has the peak attendance. The Fete always happens the second weekend in December.

• 2016 François Villard Condrieu Les Terrasses du Palat - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/7/2018)
  From the glass list at the Cour des Loges Bar. Floral nose - white flowers and stone fruit. Has a weighty mouthfeel and tastes of ripe yellow stone fruit, with a good spine of acidity and a spicy white pepper on the finish. Quite lively and enjoyable.
• 2016 Pierre Gaillard St. Joseph La Relève - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/7/2018)
  From the wine list at Comptoir Abel (Lyon). Nose is more to the jammy side. This is quite young and not really ready for prime time - dark fruits with savory notes - but at this point not a lot of complexity. Okay quaffer but not particularly noteworthy.
• 2006 Château Rayas Côtes du Rhône Château de Fonsalette Reserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/7/2018)
  From the wine list at Cour des Loges (Lyon). PnP, nose of red fruit , spices and earth. On the palate, ready and open for business- red fruits (cherry and strawberry), black tea leaves, herbs, smoke, earth - layers of flavors unfold across the palate. Interesting on Day2 - the tannins are a bit more assertive than day 1 but still tasting well.
• 2015 Christophe Pichon Condrieu - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/8/2018)
  From the wine list at Daniel & Denise (Lyon). The nose is very floral and lifted. Tastes of white flowers, yellow peaches and almost a peppery spiciness on the finish. Rich and unctuous in mouthfeel - a lovely accompaniment to a traditional Lyonnaise Bouchon luncheon.
• 2016 Domaine Jean-Claude Marsanne St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/8/2018)
  PnP - the nose is more to the jammy side similar to a lot of young Northern Rhone Syrah. The palate however, is all savory goodness with black olives and smokey meat with dark fruits. Quite accessible for current drinking but I am sure this will add some complexity with cellar time. Great QPR

Jean-Luc Jamet tasting visit

We had the pleasure of meeting with Jean-Luc and his son Benoit at the Domaine. Jean- Luc was warm and friendly with us but speaks little English, so roused his son Benoit (who was home from Univ for the weekend) to help translate. We tasted through the full line-up of current vintages and also the 2014 Cote-Rotie. All tastings were from bottle, we did not do any barrel tasting. A great visit and a nice opportunity to taste the wines before this vintage arrives in the US. Particularly interesting was the Rose and Pinot Noir which I was not even aware were being made.

It was great to learn that Benoit is planning to go into the business with his father when he finishes school. His older siblings have not shown interest in the wine business and have settled in other professions. One of the things that became really clear to us on this trip, is with these small family owned domaines, continuity is so important. The work is really hard and the next generation does not always want the same things as their parents.

We discussed the new labels that they introduced with the 2016 vintage. With encouragement from their distributor, they hired a design firm to design the new label which features subtle curving lines (representing the Rhone River) on a simple white background. The old label (which got a lot of negative feedback) was simply put together by Jean-Luc and Benoit using their home computer.

Jean-Luc's property is directly next door to Jean-Paul Jamet. Unfortunately we were not able to schedule an appointment with Jean-Paul as it would have been really interesting to compare and contrast the wines.

• 2016 Jean-Luc Jamet Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Rosé de Syrah - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine, was not aware that Jean-Luc made a rose. 100% Syrah and not made in every vintage. This was very aromatic and bright and fresh on the palate. Great wine for summer, really fun to try, but not sure if they get distributed in the U.S.
• 2017 Jean-Luc Jamet Côtes du Rhône Couzou - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine and consistent with prior vintages this is really tasty. Jean-Luc thinks they are at their best with 3 years of cellar time, but will drink well for a decade. The nose is quite floral and the palate has white peaches, some melon a hint of almonds with a silky mouthfeel. Tastes of summer - delightful. New label on the bottles is very elegant - the curved lines meant to represent the Rhone River.
• 2017 Jean-Luc Jamet Pinot Noir Vin de France Schistes - France, Vin de France (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine - a big surprise for me as I was not aware anyone in the Northern Rhone was growing Pinot Noir. The grapes are grown just above their property. Lovely fragrance of cherry fruit and spices. On the palate very fresh with tart red cherries, earth and spices. Interesting.
• 2017 Jean-Luc Jamet Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Valine - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Nose of dark fruit. On the palate dark fruit, smoke, black olives, lots of savory notes. Still very young - needs some time to settle down but lots of good stuff here.
• 2017 Jean-Luc Jamet Côtes du Rhône L'Enclave - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. This was the most sauvage of the reds tasted today, more savory and wild with dark fruits and some grippy tannins. Really fun wine and a great QPR.
• 2016 Jean-Luc Jamet Côte-Rôtie Les Terrasses - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Wow this is really lovely, power and elegance with silky texture . The nose is fragrant with red and black fruit and spices. On the palate this is clearly young, but already full of layers, I will store mine away for at leasst another decade or two.
• 2014 Jean-Luc Jamet Côte-Rôtie Les Terrasses - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Tasted right after the 2016, the few extra years have made this a bit softer. Again very elegant and silky on the plate, with the layers of fruit and savory, meat and smoke unfolding across the palate - so in my wheelhouse. Hold for another decade.

Marche Aux Vins Chavanay

The Marche aux Vins Chavanay is a 4 day wine market fair open to public focused primarily on vignerons from Condrieu and St Joseph. It is a grand tasting like format with each of the producers pouring their line up of wines at booths except that you can buy the wines as you taste at cellar door pricing. They have runners with carts set up so you can wheel all of your purchases back to the car. Incredible value for the entrance price of 7 euro per person and 60 different producers pouring their complete line up of wines. The venue was a school gymnasium and outside many different vendors selling local foods (oysters, escargot, andouille sausage, charcuterie, fromages olives etc..). They also had a tent set up where you could sit and take a full menu and open bottles that had been purchased at the wine fair. A really fun and local event - we enjoyed the wine tasting but also soaking up the French culture and experience.

Highlights were Xavier Gérard, Levet and Lionel Faury.

• 2017 Jeanne Gaillard Marsanne Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/9/2018)
  Pretty nose of stone fruit, very easy to drink and quite quaffable with ripe white/yellow orchard fruit and balanced acidity. Not a lot of complexity but a great QPR daily drinker.
• 2016 Jeanne Gaillard Viognier - France (12/9/2018)
  Similar to the ‘17 Marsanne, this VdP Viognier offers varietal typicity at a great QPR. Nose of white flowers, tastes of florals, full mouth feel and has nice acidity. Lacks the complexity of older vine Condrieu but a tasty daily drinker.
• 2017 Pierre Gaillard Condrieu l'octroi - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/9/2018)
  Much more body and weight than the ‘16 vdp viognier. Aged for 8 mos in oak barrels (5% new). This was quite nice and had a strong mineral and saline note running through that persisted through the finish.
• 2017 Pierre Gaillard Vin de Pays Grapillage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays (12/9/2018)
  First time trying a sweet wine from the Rhone. This is 50/50 viognier and roussane. 200 grams residual sugar. Very pretty aromatics but out of balance for my palate - not enough acidity to balance the strong sweet notes. A little goes a long way.
• 2016 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie Améthyste - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  Some sauvage on the nose and then dark fruits, earth pepper and that rustic edge you expect from Levet. Very young now, but a wine I will look to add to the cellar for aging.
• 2016 Bernard Levet Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche / La Péroline - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  The Peroline is very nice and a bit more complex than the the ‘16 Amethyste ( which was ver good). Dark fruits, animal notes, grippy tannins, taut acidity - very masculine and complex. A stand out at the fair today. Needs quite a bit of cellar time to knit together though.
• 2017 Xavier Gerard Viognier - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/9/2018)
  Loving these easy drinking VdP Viogniers that are widely available here, great little affordable wines for daily drinking. This is quite fresh and easy drinking, bright acidity, floral nose and typical full mouthfeel. Tasty quaffer, clearly not as complex as the Condrieu but for a far lower tariff.
• 2016 Xavier Gerard Condrieu L'Arbuel - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/9/2018)
  The nose on this is very expressive and floral -wow just lovely! On the palate the stone fruit is ripe and full with minerals and a nice finish. Xavier explained this Cuvée is for earlier drinking than the Côte Chatillon.
• 2017 Xavier Gerard Condrieu Côte Chatillon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/9/2018)
  Wow this is a great bottle - really distinctive with layers of stone fruit, honey, mineral, acid, salinity and white pepper. Lots of depth and power here but nose more restrained - this needs some time in cellar - hold for 5 years.
• 2017 Xavier Gerard St. Joseph Le Blanchard - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/9/2018)
  Super young and juicy with a bold splash of dark fruits and spices. Needs some time to settle in and pull together - give this a few more years before sampling again.
• 2016 Xavier Gerard Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  Tasted side by side with the 15, the cooler vintage is evident as the fruit is less forward and the wine is very fresh. Dark and red fruits, with some savory notes and pepper on the finish. Great structure here - stash away for 10 yrs.
• 2015 Xavier Gerard Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  Tasted-next to the ‘16, the fruit is a bit more concentrated and ripe, but the acidity is still keeping it fresh. Great material here but needs a decade.
• 2015 Xavier Gerard Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  First time trying the Landonne and I was really excited that Xavier agreed to share a taste and sell us a bottle. Wow this has powers, concentration and elegance -the tannins have a very silky quality and the aromatics of berries and spice are great. Won’t give this a try for 15 years
• 2017 Dumien-Serrette / Nicolas Serrette Cornas Patou - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/9/2018)
  Very young and feral, dark brooding fruit, pepper, olives and game - rustic chewy tannins. This needs lots time but having never tasted a mature example of the wine not sure where it will go.
• 2016 Domaine Faury St. Joseph Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavanay wine fair. Floral & stone fruit nose. Tastes of white peaches & pear with a bit of lemon, lots of minerals come through on the finish - very nice.
• 2017 Domaine Faury Condrieu - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavanay wine fair. The 2017 Condrieu are really nice and this was no exception. Very young still but just a lovely mouthfeel - weight and viscosity but delivered with bright acidity and minerals, floral and lifted - really pretty. Hold for more complexity to develop or drink young for freshness.
• 2017 Domaine Faury Condrieu Cuvée La Berne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavany wine fair. Nose on this one is a bit more reserved than the basic Condrieu. Tastes of pear, peaches and minerals - rich mouthfeel but not as open. Very young needs time in cellar to develop - hold.
• 2017 Domaine Faury St. Joseph (Hedonism) - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavanay wine fair. The Hedonism is built for early drinking more in the fruity and fresh category. Nose is forward with red fruits and spice. Tastes of plush red plummy fruit with cracked black pepper coming through on the back half. Tasty but I not a style that I prefer.
• 2016 Domaine Faury St. Joseph La Gloriette Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavanay wine fair. The Gloriette is sold in the US under a different label as "Vieilles Vignes". Tasted after the Hedonism - this is the much more interesting and complex of the two bottling. The fruit is deeper and more concentrated, with more earth, spice and savory notes adding depth across the palate and through the finish. Very compelling - but needs time to develop complexity.
• 2016 Domaine Faury Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavanay wine fair. Great stuff here but so, so young. Glad to have the opportunity to taste, as I have 4 bottles resting in the cellar. Nose of dark fruit & earth. On the palate lots of structure, tannins, acidity - with dark & red fruits, earth & minerals and savory notes of olives and meat. Hold for 10 years.
• 2014 Domaine Faury Condrieu Brumaire - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/9/2018)
  Tasted at the Chavanay wine fair. Another interesting sweet viognier but this one got the balance just right. The acidity and sweetness were playing the perfect ying yang with each other - great tension. I would definitely grab one of these if I saw them for sale in the US.

Dinner at La Pyramide Patrick Henrioux - Vienne

Dinner at the two Michelin star restaurant La Pyramide Patrick Henrioux in Vienne was a lovely, if quite indulgent, experience. The food and service here were very good and the wine list had a fairly extensive selection of Rhone wines although not a lot with significant age. We were lucky to find the ‘98 Jamet which was very reasonably priced.

Starter: escargot du rozay en chapelure d'ail frit, coeur du sucrine grille, et copeaux des rigottes de condrieu
Main: Carre d'agneau allaitions, de paimpol cuisines comme un cassoulet, gnocchi de chèvre frais
Cheese Course

• N.V. Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé - France, Champagne (12/9/2018)
  An aperitif to start our meal at La Pyramide. Always consistent and enjoyable - an elegant rose with fine bubbles, bright acidity with stawberries and minerals.
• 1998 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  From the wine list at La Pyramide. So excited to see this on the wine list for a reasonable price. Similar to prior experience this vi rage is drinking incredibly well right now. Gorgeous nose of mature fruit, smoke and savory goodness. The fruit is less primary but still holding and the grilled meats, black olives, smokiness and earthiness just take center stage. Pure delight!
• 2009 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/9/2018)
  From the glass list at La Pyramide. To pair with the cheese course we decided to stick with the Jamet theme. In contrast, this is still a real youngster - much more tightly spooled and less,giving both on the nose and palate than the ‘98Structure still very much in place but let these sleep for another 5-10:years. Patience will be rewarded.

Rene Rostaing tasting visit - Ampuis

A morning visit to the very charming Rene Rostaing was one of the stops we were most looking forward to. He met us at his cellar and we tasted through six different wines starting with two wines from his Languedoc vineyards. Rene is retired now and his son Pierre is running the business but it seems he still is involved as necessary. Rene had already sold through his Condrieu so were unable to taste - but he believes that the 2017 vintage maybe the best he has ever made. He suggested grabbing these and cellaring if we see them available at retail. He is also now making two bottlings of a Côte-Rotie to honor the Dervieux (Rene's father-in-law) and Gentaz (Rene's uncle) sides of their family legacy. We got to taste the 2016 La Vialliere (Dervieux legacy) which was exceptional. He also commented on the crazy high auction prices that the older Gentaz vintages are selling for at auction - showing complete dismay. He mentioned that even the new Gentaz legacy bottling - is trading for quite a premium ex-domaine. Very little of this is made.

This was a very warm and friendly visit and a real pleasure to spend time with a Côte-Rotie legend. Rene surprised us with his embrace of personal technology and asked us to airdrop or text him the photos we snapped during our visit:-)

• 2016 Rene Rostaing Grenache Blanc Coteaux du Languedoc Puech Noble - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From a project of Rene’s in Languedoc near Nimes. This is an easy drinking summer patio white - tasting of white peaches and sunshine. Fresh with good acidity balancing the fruit. Enjoyable.
• 2016 Rene Rostaing Coteaux du Languedoc Puech Noble - France, Languedoc Roussillon, Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From Rostaing’s vineyards in Languedoc near Nimes. A fresh easy drinking summer red meant for earlier consumption. The acidity here was nicely balanced to the ripe fruit.
• 2016 Rene Rostaing Syrah Les Lézardes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From grapes grown at the foot of the Côte-Rotie hill. Nose on this is has dark berries. On the palate very fresh wiith dark fruit and some minerality. Less complex than the Côte-Rotie but a very nice wine at the price point.
• 2016 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Classique Ampodium - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Classic Côte-Rotie nose her with dark fruit and some olives and grilled meats. Still very young but a very well put together wine, with layers of dark fruit and savory elements, silky on the palate even at this young stage. Great structure for aging.
• 2016 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Viaillère - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. A newer bottling from very old vines that were previously blended into Ampodium. The bouquet on this is exceptional - really jumps out of the glass with ripe black fruits and florals. Tastes of blackberries, spices, hints of pine with savory notes in the background. Tannins are present but has an elegant mouthfeel. Very long finish - outstanding! Glad to have been able to purchase a bottle at the Domaine.
• 2007 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Bottle had been opened 2 days prior. This was really special. The nose was open and lovely with red fruit and spices. Entering its drinking window, with elegance and fine tannins and layers of red fruit, spice, some olives and minerals - really lovely! Unfortunately Rene had no La Ladonne of any vintage available for sale.

Stéphane Ogier tasting visit - Ampuis

The Ogier tasting rooom and winery is the most slick and modern of the properties we visited. Built in 2014 it is more reminiscent of a Napa Valley style structure.

We were hosted by Eniko, a young Hungarian woman who has worked at Ogier for about a year. We did not get to meet with Stéphane as he was working with his team on blending whites the day of our visit. Ogier line up is extensive with a number of Single vineyard Cote Roties as well as the villages and Classic (formerly known as Reserve) blends as well as Viogniers and various VdP bottlings. Unfortunately we did not get to taste through the single vineyard holdings or do any barrel tastings, but did taste seven different wines. After tasting we took a quick tour of the winery facilities, which were very modern with new stainless steel fermentation tanks, a large barrel room, and a small lab.

Overall I enjoyed the visit, though the Domaine and the wines both have a more glossy corporate feel than many of the smaller vignerons we visited this week. Somehow when you meet with the person who made the wines, you feel a deeper connection.

Beautiful views from the parking lot across to the Cote Blonde.

• 2017 Stéphane Ogier Viognier de Rosine - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From granitic soil, aged 10 months in used French oak. Easy drinking more of a richer styled viognier with less complexity than the Condrieu.
• 2017 Stéphane Ogier Condrieu La Combe de Malleval - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From granitic soil on La Combe and Veauvignere, aged 10 mos. in 2 yr old French oak. Nose is very floral and lifted. Silky, viscous mouthfeel, more of a rich style but with the acidity and mineral finish to support the ripe fruit.
• 2016 Stéphane Ogier Côtes du Rhône Le temps est venu - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. 60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre. Whole cluster fermentation, aged in concrete tanks for 8-10 months. Built for early drinking, kind of a pizza or bbq wine that you would grab. Dark juicy berries and some pepper and spice - fresh but not too complex.
• 2013 Michel & Stéphane Ogier L'Âme Sœur Syrah de Seyssuel - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Fruit comes from Seyssuel which is on the left bank North of Vienne with the vineyard surrounding the ruins of a castle. Vines planted in 2001 in schiste soils similar to Cote- Brune. 99% Syrah and 1% Viognier. First yr in burgundy barrels, second year in Demi-Muids - 10-20% new oak. With 5 years of age, this seemed a bit softer and easier on the tannins than the younger wines we were tasting. Black and blue fruits with zingy pepper. This wine is built to drink in the 5-8 year range.
• 2016 Stéphane Ogier Syrah La Rosine - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Planted in the 1980’s in granitic soil. Destemmed and aged in 2-3 yr old French oak. Compared to the ‘13 L’Ame Souter the tannins are more powerful, dark red fruits, spice, cracked peppercorn and a bit of heat on the finish. This needs some time.
• 2016 Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie Mon Village - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. This is the villages level blend of primarily younger vines with the main component coming from Bessel on Cote-Brune. Color is leaning to dark purple. Very fruit forward with lots of spices. The 16 should be ready to drink before the 15- and the villages level is generally built to be the earliest drinking of the Cote-Rotie line-up.
• 2010 Michel & Stéphane Ogier Côte-Rôtie But de Mont - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. The nose on this is beautiful, red fruits, smoke, spices and olives. Tastes of dark red fruit ( plums) earth, spices with a hint of sweetness to the fruit and pepper on the finish.

Guillaume Gilles - tasting visit - Cornas

A truly memorable late afternoon visit to the Cave of Guillaume Gilles in Cornas. He uses the old cave of Robert Michel who was his mentor and he says “spiritual father”. The first part of the cave dates back to the 1400’s and the latter half was added in 1930. Very rustic and charming - this is where Guillaume keeps all his barrels, but pressing and fermentation happen a few blocks away in another building. Guillaume is a young and really friendly winemaker with generous smile. He runs his business primarily on his own with the help of his partner and some seasonal workers at harvest. Guillaume has been farming organic for the past decade and gained his official organic status last year. He raises his wine in used oak barrels rom 2-18 years old as he does not want the wood to influence the wine. He is warm and engaging demeanor, he was free with information and clearly excited about his craft. We were very charmed with him and his wines. We started the visit with barrel tasting of the components for the 2017 Cornas (Les Terrasses and Les Grands Murs) as also barrel sampled the 2017 Nouvelle. From there we moved onto to the bottles. Guillaume's wine is clearly a wine of its place - it smells and tastes like Cornas - the terroir shines through.

• 2017 Guillaume Gilles Vin de France Les Peyrouses Blanc - France, Vin de France (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Cave. The only white Guillaume makes and very new to his line up. Primarily marsanne with a bit of roussane. Fragrant nose of white fruits and white flowers. Tastes of of ripe white peaches and pears, definitely has some body and richness to the mouthfeel. Nice but not overly complex.
• 2017 Guillaume Gilles Combeaux Massardières - France, Rhône, Vin de France (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Cave with Guillaume. 100% gamay - Guillaume explained that he gained access to some vines through an old family friend and had grown up in Lyon drinking Beaujolais so was excited to try his hand with Gamay. This is more of a Northern Rhone styles Gamay as it has a bit more structure and power - tart cherry and lots of minerals - very fresh. Perfect for summer drinking with barbqued meats.
• 2017 Guillaume Gilles Cornas Nouvelle R Les Rieux - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/10/2018)
  From barrel sample. The nose on this is clearly Cornas with dark fruit and a bit animalistic. The fruit leans dark , tannins are quite grippy and the minerals really come through on the finish. Lots of power here but also a lot of freshness. Can’t wait to taste in bottle.
• 2016 Guillaume Gilles Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Cave with Guillaume. Wow this is great - beautiful structure for aging. Lots of power but also elegance. The nose is aromatic with dark fruit and spice. On the plate the fruit is ripe but balanced with acidity, grippy tannins and lots of pepper and smoke. Lots of complexity happening here. Happy to grab a few bottles to bring home and stash in the cellar for 10 plus years.
• 2014 Guillaume Gilles Cornas - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/10/2018)
  Tasted at the Cave with Guillaume. A few more years of age after the ‘16 and also very good perhaps not quite as complex. The tannins have loosened up a bit here by comparison but this is still very young. Dark berries and black olives, very nice.

Dinner at Le Quai, Tain

Located directly across the street from Hotel 2 Coteaux, this was an easy location to hit for our first night in Tain. Reservations can be made in advance via their website. A casual brasserie style restaurant with daily menu as well as a la carte selections. The food here was good, if not perhaps as complex as some of our other choices. We were ther on a Monday and it was very quiet but later in the week it seemed bustling. Attentive service with English spoken. Wine list had many Northern Rhone selection but most were from 2016 and 2917 vintages - this was a theme across many of the restaurants. Pricing very reasonable.

Starter - Tempura des Gambas (shrimp) with Thai sauce and petit salade
Main - Ravioles de la Mère Maury à la crème au bleu du Vercors , jambon cru de l ‘Ardèche Maison Guèze , copeaux de parmesan
Desert - Profiteroles

• 2013 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/10/2018)
  From the wine list at Le Quay (Tain-l’Hermitage). This was one of the older wines on the list but still very young and not yet in its drinking window for my palate. Blackberries and cracked black pepperbut a bit tightly spooled with tannin and acidity. Was a PnP so would have benefited from a decant or better yet more cellar time.

Delas Frères visit - St. Jean du Muzols

Tuesday morning started out with a visit to Delas Frères We met with the lively and engaging Bruno, who manages the tasting room and retail shop for Delas. They are currently in the middle of a big move to new facilities in Tain, which will more than double their space. I believe the St Jean du Muzol facility will be used for all of the negoces wines, while the Tain facility will be for their higher end Domaine bottlings. The tasting room and retail shop will also move.

Our visit started with a tour of the winery (across the road from the tasting room/retail shop) very modern with a combination of concrete and steel fermentation tanks and a robotic system for punch downs. White wines are fermented and barrel aged in a separate room. The red barrel room was half empty as they have already started the move. The warehouse section, where bottled wines are in various stages (unlabeled in bins, boxed and packed on palettes for distribution, seemed enormous - kind of like Home Depot.

We then moved back to the tasting room to taste the line-up. We tasted through 8 different wines across the range. The pours were very large and we probably spent over two hours tasting and talking with Bruno. A really nice visit.

The retail shop here has a very extensive selection across the Domaine selections as well a number of champagnes from their parent company Deutz. Definitely worth a visit.

• 2017 Delas Frères St. Joseph Les Challeys - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. 90% Marsanne. Golden color. Tastes of peach & apricot & white flowers. Very tasty - vintage fully sold through.
• 2017 Delas Frères Hermitage Blanc Domaine des Tourettes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/11/2018)
  Some new oak is used here - and it comes through on the nose and palate - this will need time to integrate. From 90 year old vines. Warm vintage. This is super young, and the oak is poking through a bit for me at this stage, but the yellow & white peaches, minerals and acid are lying behind. Tuck this away for 10 years.
• 2016 Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Pretty nose of pears and flowers. This has a nice mouthfeel, body & weight, pears and minerals with a touch of honey and saline. Still very young, but quite nice. Cellar for more complexity to develop.
• 2016 Delas Frères Crozes-Hermitage Domaine des Grands Chemins - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. The first of the reds in the line-up this is very fresh with dark savory fruit supported by lively acidity. Seems like this is built in a style for earlier accessibility. Grown on flat lands in alluvial soil.
• 2016 Delas Frères St. Joseph Cuvée Francois de Tournon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Aged 70% in Stainless & 30% in Barrel - grown on granitic soil. This is dark and dense in color, a bit more brooding than the fruitier Crozes-Hermitage we tasted prior. Dark fruits, earth and black olives. More in my wheelhouse.
• 2016 Delas Frères Cornas Chante-Perdrix - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Smells and tastes like Cornas - this is even darker and meatier than the St. Joseph. Very savory, with some chewy tannins and brisk acids give this the structure to age quite nicely. I would not pop one of these for at least 5-7 years.
• 2016 Delas Frères Côte-Rôtie Seigneur de Maugiron - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Primarily from Cote Brune - aged in oak (20% new/ 80% used). Super young still, with lots of structure. Dark currants and blackberry, pepper and spices with grippy tannins and a spine of acidity. Not very accessible at this point - needs at least 8-10 years.
• 2015 Delas Frères Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/11/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Again super young and still showing some oak on the nose & palate. Dark fruits (blackberry and black currants), with grilled meats and a brambly earthiness. The structure is here to develop but needs time in the cellar - hold until 2025.

Alain Voge tasting visit - Cornas

After lunch we headed back to Cornas to visit Alain Voge. We were hosted by Anouche a friendly and knowledgeable staff member who runs the tastings. Alain is now retired but continues to live next door and there is a full time manger of the Domaine who we did not meet. There is an official tasting room space here, although on the smaller side. We only visited the tasting room, so did not tour any of the winemaking facilities or cave. A nice visit with the opportunity to taste the full line up of current vintages. My general impression is that the Voge wines are a bit more polished and modern than some other producers we visited in Cornas. I particularly enjoyed their selections from St Peray. Of special note was the sparkling St Peray, which apparently used to be the most common type of wine from St Peray but has fallen out of fashion and is now made by very few producers. Not sure it was my thing but it was fun to taste. Oh also loved their christmas display with various past vintage labels - kind of a cute idea for a wine geek christmas!

• 2017 Alain Voge St. Péray Harmonie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/11/2018)
  100% Marsanne, from 20-30 yr old vines, aged in cement tank. Golden color, ripe stone fruit (yellow & white peaches) with balancing acidity. Nice but the simplest of the line-up.
• 2016 Alain Voge St. Péray Ongrie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/11/2018)
  100% Marsanne grown on steep slopes in granite & limestone, aged 10 months in used oak barrels. Will age for 5-8 years. Yellow & white peach, apricot but lots more minerality comes through than on the Harmonie. Very nice.
• 2016 Alain Voge St. Péray Fleur de Crussol - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/11/2018)
  100% Marsanne from 80 year old vines - that grow around a ruined castle at the top of the hill. Can age for 10 + years. This was terrific, lots of complexity comes through here along with the beautiful fruit, minerals and a touch of lemon pith - more layers. Grabbed a bottle so we can see how this develops over time. Lovely
• 2016 Alain Voge St. Joseph Les Côtes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/11/2018)
  From a very steep parcel in Mauves, 20 year old vines, 13 months in barrel. Dark fruits with lots of cracked black pepper and spices, grippy tannins on the finish. Very young - give this 3-5 years to come together and soften up.
• 2016 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  From the lower part of the Cornas slopes - grown on more pourous granitic soil. Built for earlier drinking within 5-6 years. The nose on this is quite sauvage - meaty/gamey. The palate though is much more fresh and fruity - dark fruits with brisk acidity. Needs some food and some time.
• 2016 Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  From 50 yr old vines on the top of hill at 500 meters, spends 20 months in barrel (20% new oak). Built for aging 15 plus years. Lots of structure on this one, the new oak comes through a bit on the nose and palate, black/blue fruits and big chewy tannins. Let this one lie down for a decade.
• 2016 Alain Voge Cornas Cuvée Vieilles Fontaines - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  A separate parcel that does not get made every vintage - in those years it gets blended into the Vieilles Vignes. Aged 24 months in barrel (20% new). Very structured and super young - so right now it is all tannins and acid. Needs lots of time - give it ten years, but should be really interesting.
• 2013 Alain Voge St. Péray Les Bulles d'Alain Petillant - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/11/2018)
  Apparently once upon a time St. Peray used to be known for there sparkling wines, now very little is made at all - this is the only one we tasted during our visit - so very fun. 100% marsanne. A totally dry wine, but because of the richness of the Marsanne there is a hint of sweetness which is just the fruit. A nice aperitif - and fun to try but for me more of a novelty.

Franck Balthazar tasting visit - Cornas

Our final visit on Tuesday was with Franck Balthazar and I have to say tasting visits don't get much better than this. We already were big fans of the Balthazar wines, and Franck is just a terrific guy and passionate winemaker. His winery and cave are located just behind his house on a quiet residential street in Cornas. Like many of the winemakers we met, he prefers to schedule tasting appointments for later in the day so as not to distract from daily work in the Vineyards/cellar. We ended up spending about two and half hours down in the cellar with Franck tasting the 2017’s and 2018’s from barrel before moving on to bottles. Franck made a joke about us having a driver, so he gave us very large pours and there was no dump bucket in sight. He joined in and drank every sample along side us as well. We talked and laughed and learned about his wines, business, recent trip to NYC for Reboule and life in general. Really great wines with character and sense of place and just a terrific guy!

He farms organically (certified) uses no new oak, and believes very much that the wines should express the terroir with minimal intervention. He made a point show us the progression of the Cornas Cuvees from the Casimir to the Sans Soufre to the Chaillot - to see how the expression of the soil changes and also between two different barrel samples of the St. Peray to see the effect of difference in the age of the barrels. We learned during the visit that Franck's children are not interested in the wine business so the brand will probably end with him - he is still a relatively young man so don't see that for quite a while. Big fan of the wines and the winemaker. If you go to Northern Rhone - this is a highly recommended visit.

• 2017 Franck Balthazar Cornas Sans Soufre Ajouté - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Barrel sampled at the Domaine. 100% from younger vines, aged 14-18 mos. in used demi-muids. Fruit seems a bit darker than the Casimir and a minerality and elegance come through with tannins, very fresh with bright acidity backing the fruit. First batches have been bottled. Really nice.
• 2017 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. Wow - power and elegance here! Dark fruited, black olives, some smoke, brights acidity and elegant minerals - lots of layers come through despite the young tannins. Nice to do the progress from the Casimir to the Sans Soufre to the Chaillot - the elegance and depth of these old vines really shine through.
• 2018 Franck Balthazar Cornas Cuvée Casimir Balthazar - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. Tasting such recently barreled wine is a new experience for me and it is quite bracing. Interesting here is despite the youth (aggressive tannins/acids/fruit) the same progression from the Casimir to Sans Soufre to Chaillot is experience as with the '17's. Again this is the more red fruited and soft of the bunch - less mineral. This seems a bit more concentrated than the 2017, but that could just be the freshness.
• 2018 Franck Balthazar Cornas Sans Soufre Ajouté - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. So, so bright - the freshness here is off the charts - pure fruit and singing acidity. I think this one is going to be just lovely in 5 years.
• 2018 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. Dark black & blue fruit - pure and concentrated, smoke and minerals - again the layers are evident even at this youthful stage. A very warm vintage. Look forward to tasting this in 2028.
• 2018 Franck Balthazar Crozes-Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/11/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. Following the 2017/2018 barrel sampling of the 3 Cornas Cuvees - this comes across as much more simple. From purchased grapes.
• 2018 Franck Balthazar St. Péray - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/11/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. Franck wanted us to try samples from two different barrels - both used but one of the barrels was much older than the other. So interesting - the sample from the older barrel (10 yrs) was much more elegant with the fruit more pure tasting. Both had the lovely roussanne stone fruits (peaches/apricots) and minerals - but the influence of the oak can be felt even with used barrels. He only makes a small amount of the St. Peray but it was delicious.
• 2013 Franck Balthazar Cornas Sans Soufre Ajouté - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  We were deep in the tasting at this point, so the notes are minimal. From general impressions it was great to taste one of these with five years of age as it seemed very knit together and to be entering its drinking window. Has encouraged me to exercise patience with my 15's/16's.
• 2013 Franck Balthazar Cornas Chaillot - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/11/2018)
  Again last wine of the 2.5 hour tasting so minimal notes, but remember this as being quite lovely. The bottle had been opened on a previous day so it was drinking very well, Cornas definitely with dark fruit, savory meat and game notes, but with silky elegant tannins. Beautiful stuff!

Dinner at Assemblage - Tournon-sur-Rhône

A beautiful walk across the pedestrian bridge (nicely lit for Christmas) over to Tournon for dinner tonight.

This restaurant opened a year ago with a French chef who worked for many years in London. The food and service were very good and they have a fairly extensive wine list - although not a lot of aged bottles. Definitely worth including on your itinerary. The chef owner invited us to take a tour of his wine cave at the end of our meal as he knew we were enthusiasts.

Starter: Provolone rôti a l’origan, confit tomate-oignon /salade de pourpier et feuilles de moutarde

Main: Cœur d’Entrecôte / croquette de pomme de terre au parmesan, échalote au vin rouge et Herbes fine

• 2006 Delas Frères Hermitage Les Bessards - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/11/2018)
  From the wine list at Assemblage (Tournon-sur-Rhône). Following our morning visit to Delas, we decided to try an ‘06 Les Bessards to see how these age. On the nose dark fruits, olives and earth. Tastes more red fruited (plums and cherries) with black olives, leather and earth. Tannins have softened and it reveals itself in layers with a lasting finish. Paired nicely with entrecôte de Boeuf. Seems to be entering a nice drinking window.

Marc Sorrel tasting visit - Tain

We met up with Marc Sorrel at his cave in Tain on Wednesday morning. 2018 is the last vintage that Marc will be responsible for as he is retiring at the end of the year and handing the reins over to his son. We asked how he would spend his time in retirement, and he said that he really enjoys his time in the vineyard for the attache process (tying the vines to the stakes) - he finds this is very relaxing and gives him time to think. Marc was very pleased with both the 2017 and 2018 vintages and thinks they will be outstanding wines. We barrel tasted the 2017 vintage of the Greffieux & Les Rocoules Blanc and the Classic Cuvee & Le Greal Rouge. He was only able to sell us a couple of bottles - as the production is small and most of the wine is already spoken for.

It was a real pleasure to get the opportunity to meet Marc before he heads into his retirement. He is a quiet man, but received us warmly and gladly spent time answering our questions. He showed us the old bottling machine that looks like a combination of a water pump and a bicycle seat - which is what they used to bottle when he first started working at the domaine with his father in the 70's.

• 2017 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  Barrel tasting at the Domaine. 100% Marsanne from Les Greffieux - Marc refers to this wine as the Les Greffieux. 30 yr old vines - aged 12 mos. in used barrels and then tank. He recommends holding for a minimum of 5-7 years before drinking. The wine will age for up to 20 years. Lovely stuff here - I find an elegance in the Hermitage blancs and it is evident here - the fruit is rich but the acidity in tuned up in harmony - minerals on the finish.
• 2017 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Blanc Les Rocoules - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. 100% Marsanne from Les Rocoules - 60 yr old vines. Marc recommends holding for 10 years before drinking and wine will age for 30+ years. Wow - if the Les Greffieux was lovely this is just off the charts - white peaches and meyer lemons, a creamy mouthfeel, minerals, some zingy white pepper. Still in the blush of youth but gosh this is going to be gorgeous. Small quantities made - none available for sale. If you ever see one - grab it.
• 2017 Marc Sorrel Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  Barrel tasting at the Domaine. From 30 year old vines - with the bulk coming from the flatter sections. Aged 18 -20% in oak barrels (mostly used). Marc recommends holding for 5-7 years and will age for 25 years. Quite a transition from the whites, this is still a very young wine with dark fruits and earth, but the tannins lean to the silkier side (not as chewy as the young Cornas we have been tasting this week). Again I can sense the elegance here.
• 2017 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Le Gréal - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  Barrel tasting at the Domaine. From 60 year old vines on Les Greffiuex with a small amount of Roussane from Le Meal. Aged for 20 months in barrel (mostly used). Damn this is good, so concentrated blackberry and dark red raspberry, tannins again are very silky, earth, minerals, juicy - long lasting finish - WOW!! Very nice

Chapoutier tasting room visit - Tain

After Marc Sorrel, we headed over to the Chapoutier tasting room for our next appointment. We met with Julien, who began our appointment with a walk out to the bottom of Hermitage Hill to get a perspective of the Chapoutier properties and some photo ops with the large Domain signs on the hill. From there we headed back to the tasting room. At Chapoutier they make over 180 different wines (not all available for tasting), so you can choose the type of tasting you want to do (region, level, whites or reds etc...). The only wines you cannot taste are there really high end wines (L'Ermite, Le Pavillon, Le Meal, De L'Oree, Les Greffiux and Vin de Paille). We asked to taste the best wines they could pour for us both white and red. Had a nice time chatting with Julien who is from the area and in addition to working at Chapoutier, is also starting his own project from family owned vines in Crozes-Hermitage.

The Chapoutier tasting room is set up like a retail store with a large bar for tasting. Vast selection of current vintages are available at retail here, but the prices do not seem to have any discount to US pricing.

In general I would say that I enjoyed the visit and chatting with Julien more than the I really connected to any of the wines. I did not find any distinct signature or evident terroir that made the wines of Chapoutier stand out. Perhaps it is just that the operation is too large and the wines too modern for my preference. That being said - with Chapoutier controlling 25% of Hermitage I think this is a visit you should absolutely do if you are staying in Tain.

• 2017 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Meysonniers - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier Tasting Room. 100% Marsanne - 50% aged in used oak demi-muids for 6 mos and 50% in stainless tank. Built for immediate consumption with 2-3 years. This was very fresh with bright fruit and had a light, lifted sensation on the palate rather than rich fruit. A nice aperitif/ daily drinker styled Marsanne.
• 2017 M. Chapoutier St. Péray Lieu-Dit Hongrie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. 100% Marsanne - 50% in used oak demi-muids for 6 mos and 50% in stainless. This is much more mineral tasting than the Crozes Meysonniers we had before - has more of the St. Peray signature from cooler temps and higher altitude. I like this one a bit better.
• 2016 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Blanc Les Granilites - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. 100% Marsanne and 80% aged in barrels for 12 months. Some oak and white flowers on the nose here. The palate is much richer than the previous two wines, but still has lifted acidity and minerals on the finish.
• 2016 M. Chapoutier Condrieu Invitare - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. 100% aged in oak demi-muids for 8 mos. Despite the oak treatment, this seems to be quite fresh and not as fat on the tongue as some condrieus - the acidity here keeps it lively.
• 2016 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Les Meysonniers - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. 20% aged in barrel and 80% in concrete. Nose is typical syrah - dark fruits and some meat. Palate has dark fruit and black pepper on entry but falls off and gets a bit flabby to me on the finish. This wine is built for early drinking - within 5 years.
• 2015 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Les Granilites - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. From the southern part of St. Joseph near Tain. 80% in barrels and 20% in concrete. Give this two years and will age up to 12 years. I prefer this to the Crozes-Hermitage it has a bit more grip and interest on the finish - dark fruit and pepper - good acidity.
• 2016 M. Chapoutier Cornas Les Arenes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. 100% in barrel for 12 mos. This is from younger vines so is built for early drinking. Fully destemmed and less powerful than the style of Cornas I prefer - a bit too tame for me.
• 2013 M. Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  At the Chapoutier tasting room. 85% in barrel (5-10% new) and 15% in concrete. This is a blend of many different plots in Hermitage. This has a very fragrant nose of fruit and florals. On the palate still quite grippy tannins and blackberry and black currants with cracked black pepper and some fennel or black licorice on the finish. Interesting to try this one.

Lunch at Le Nice - Tain

Julien at Chapoutier recommended that we try Le Nice for a light lunch and this was a great suggestion. Not in the practice of having three course meals for lunch we were looking for salads or something in that vein. Le Nice is located directly on the Rhone with an outside patio for warmer weather dining. A bright sunny and congenial place that was quite busy. We both had the Mediterranean Salad - which was a mix of green lettuces, endive, nicoise olives, walnuts, chicken, tomatoes and large toasted croutons with Reblochon cheese with a dijon dressing with a side of pomme frites.

• 2017 Domaine Bernard Gripa St. Péray Les Pins - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/12/2018)
  From the glass list at Le Nice (Tain). A crisper styled St. Peray, this was an enjoyable lunch wine by the glass that paired well with salad. Mineral notes and bright acidity were more prevalent than rich stone fruit.

Jaboulet Tasting room at Vineum - visit - Tain

The Jaboulet Tasting Room and retail store is located in Vineum which is also a restaurant serving a full menu for lunch. The choices seemed a bit limited when I viewed the menu on line, so we opted to just do a tasting only in the afternoon. Guillaume was our server/somm. Similar to Chapoutier they have a number of different tastings you can choose from depending on which part of the range you would like to taste. We choose the Heritage tasting - which should allow you to
taste three vintages of La Chapelle. However for some reason, they only had two vintages available ( 2011 & 2006) so we supplemented with the 2015 Hermitage Blanc Le Chevalier de Sterimberg. The tasting fee depends on the which of the tasting you choose. For the Heritage tasting is is 60 euro pp - although since we only tasted two of the wines - we were only charged 40 euro.

One interesting thing we learned was that the name of the Petite Chapelle has been changed to Maison Blue beginning in 2015 , as they were concerned it was being viewed as a second wine, which they don't believe it is - rather it is a separate site.

Jaboulet was a family business for six generations when it was sold to the Frey Family in 2006. They are also owners of Billecart Salmon and La Lagune, so these wines are also sold in the retail shop.

• 2015 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage Blanc Chevalier de Sterimberg - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  Tasted at Vineum. 1/3 Roussane, 2/3 Marsanne - fermented in a combination of stainless steel and cement eggs and then oak barrels for 9 months (15% new). Nose is very restrained given the high % of rousanne in the blend. Color - pale yellow. Some oak is evident on the palate and the wine is pretty tightly would up at this point, less rich fruit and more bitter notes of citrus pith and walnut. I think this needs way more time in the cellar to absorb the new oak and come together. Although the somm indicated this was built for earlier drinking and would last up to 10 years for aging.
• 2011 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  At the Jaboulet tasting room at Vineum. From coravin. Restrained nose - very little happening aromatically. Black fruit with dried leaves, spices and black tea notes. Soft on entry and then grippier tannins on the finish. Palate becomes more expressive with time in the glass. Hold of opening this for another 5 years - but if opening now will benefit from a long decant.
• 2006 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  At the Jaboulet tasting room at Vineum. From coravin - and also a very restrained nose. Tasted side by side with the 2011 - this is more knit together and elegant on the palate. More red fruited than the 2011, with savory olives, black tea leaves, pepper and spice, dried leaves and soil. A lot going on - in a nice drinking window now.

Climbing Hermitage Hill

After our tasting visit at Jaboulet it was still light out and the weather was dry so we decided this would be our best opportunity to climb up to La Chapelle. Perhaps a bit wobbly after three tasting visits, but we really needed the exercise. So glad we did it as the views were amazing. The hill goes up gently to begin with on a pave path, but about 2/3 of the way up it gets quite steep and the path is more like a trail (gravel and dirt). This bit required a bit of an effort. Took a few minutes at the top to enjoy the view - then realized we should get down before the sunset. Decided to take the longer but less steep path down - which was nice for a change of scenery. Really amazing how steep the vineyard terrain is here and how difficult the work must be. Also realized that it is difficult to convey the steepness through a picture on an iPhone.

Dinner at Le Mangevins - Tain

The restaurant that seemed to receive the most recommendations in Tain - located just around the corner from our hotel - we were not disappointed. Great food and very attentive service, with a real focus on wine. The wine list offered a broad range of Rhone wines but was not as deep with older vintages as were hoping. We were glad to try a Marc Sorrel Les Rocoules from '09 after our morning visit with him. Unfortunately I did not write down what we ordered nor take photos, and the memory has failed me. I believe it was a sautéed cod on the skin for the main and perhaps sea scallops for the starter.

• 2009 Marc Sorrel Hermitage Blanc Les Rocoules - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/12/2018)
  From the wine list at Les Mangevins (Tain). After our morning visit to Marc Sorrel we were excited to taste this with a few years og age on it. A really elegant wine, still not at full maturity and mnay years of drinking ahead. Silky and viscous mouthfeel and tadtes of honey, peaches and marzipan - with a floral bouquet. Super long finish - highly enjoyable.

Vincent Paris tasting visit - Cornas

On Thursday morning we headed back to Cornas for a visit with Vincent Paris. Vincent's winery and cave are also located behind his house (seems to be common place in Cornas). Vincent was wearing his "Reboule du Rhone" tee-shirt which was funny as we met him briefly at the Reboule Grand Tasting. He is a quite tall and a bit on the quiet and shy side, but he greeted us warmly and tasted us through his entire range of wines - from bottle - all bottles were opened directly before tasting. We spent some time looking at the map of the Cornas appellation to get a sense of where his vines were located and it was really helpful to look at the map and then go outside and actually look at the hill. Vincent answered all of our questions freely, but he is not a big chatter, so this tasting visit was a bit more brief than some others lasting about 45 minutes. I did not have much previous experience with the Paris wines, but I see them come up a bit at auction so was very interested to taste.

• 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris Granit Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Ardèche (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the domaine. The grapes here are all grown on a Northern exposure in Cornas. 2/3 Viognier and 1/3 Roussane. I really liked this blend - very pretty aromatics - perfumed summer flowers. Tastes of apricot, white peach but with minerality on the finish and a spine of acid. Mouthfeel was weighty and silky. Vincent said these will age nicely for up to 10 years. Have never seen in the US so we grabbed a bottle to add to the cellar.
• 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris St. Joseph Les Cotes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. 100% Syrah from an area about 30km north of Cornas. Aged 3 mos in vat and 9 mos in used barrels. Fresh young syrah - nose of dark fruits primarily. On the palate dark berries and fresh acids, some spice - very youthful. Needs time to integrate give this 5 years.
• 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30 - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. The 30 in the name refers to the degree of the slope of the hill where this is grown. 100% Syrah. Aged 3 mos in vat then 9 mos - 1 yr in barrel (2-8 yrs old). Wine can age for up to 15 years. Tastes of blackberries, black raspberries and black currants, with cracked peppercorns, spice cabinet but the tannins here are surprisingly smooth for such a young wine. (smoother than the St. Joseph we tried directly before)
• 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 60 - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From 3 parcels with a 60 degree slope. 3 mos. in vat, 1 yer in barrel (2-8 yrs old). Nose of dark cherries and violets. The fruit here is more concentrated and juicy than the 30, black fruits and also some red fruits, smoke, spice cabinet and smoother round tannins, very silky with a long finish.
• 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris Cornas La Geynale - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From the old vine plots on Reynard - very steep slopes - south facing. Will age for up to 30 years - best to wait 10 years before it hits the drinking window. Wow - this is great stuff - dense and powerful. So the dark fruits, spices and pepper notes are there but also lots of minerals - old vines really deliver that signature. Some smoke, game and black olive lurking behind - but these are so young and fresh - that really the fruit is on display at this point. We grabbed a bottle to stash in the cellar until 2030.

Jean-Luc Colombo tasting visit - Cornas

Next we headed over to the Jean-Luc Colombo tasting room to meet with Jeremie, who manages the tasting room and retail shop. He has worked for the company for about a year and was a very lively and engaging host. We started our visit by jumping into his jeep and driving up to the top of the hill to get a sense of the lay of the land. The Cornas hill is quite steep, with many of the old vine vineyards clustered at the bottom and then rising up to about 400 meters. In more recent years, as global warming continues, some winemakers are planting up to 500 meters (beginning with Guillaume Gilles) as these sites which in the past would not ripen are now doing well. It was great to get a sense for the steepness of the terrain here - hard enough to walk down among the vines for a photo op - gives you a real appreciation for the level of physical effort required to work these vineyards.

We then headed back to the tasting room. Jeremie explained that Jean-Luc arrived in the Rhone Valley as an oenology consultant working with various winemakers but soon decided that he would like to make his own wine and started acquiring some plots. Overtime he has become one of the larger growers in Cornas and has holdings or purchases fruit from the other appellations.The tasting room is medium sized and comfortable and wines are available for retail sale. Jeremie was a very hospitable host and we had a nice time learning about these wines. We got to taste a broad range of wines both white and red with 4 different offerings from Cornas.

In the middle of our tasting we were treated to a short snow storm - outside the window which was very festive.

• 2016 Jean-Luc Colombo Côtes du Rhône Les Abeilles Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. 80% Clairette and 20% Roussane. With the Clairette coming from the Southern Rhone and the Roussane from nearby St. Peray. Very floral nose. On the palate this is lean and crisp with florals and minerals on the finish. Good summer wine - not to complex.
• 2015 Jean-Luc Colombo Clairette Blanche Les Anthenors - France, Provence, Mediterranée (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. 100% Clairette from La Cote Blue - Sausset les-Pins. Aged in oak barrels for 1 yr (15% new). this is a strange little wine. Very distinct Fennel aromatics and taste - a combo of black licorice and bright acidity. Apparently this is a great pairing with oysters. Very polarizing - either you like licorice or you don't (I am not a fan - my husband loved it).
• 2017 Jean-Luc Colombo St. Péray La Belle de Mai - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Péray (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. 60% Roussane (grown at 500 meters) and 40% Marsanne - from 20 - 40 year old vines. Pretty nose - got to love those Roussane aromatics! On the palate this is rich and floral but also bright. Will age for 5-7 years. Very nice.
• 2017 Jean-Luc Colombo Condrieu Amour de Dieu - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From purchased fruit. Aged 10 mos in oak barrel. Color is a light yellow. Smells of white flowers. Rich mouthfeel, viscous, yellow peaches and orange blossom, balancing acidity and some lemon pith.
• 2017 Jean-Luc Colombo Côtes du Rhône Les Abeilles - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Aged 70% in tank, 30% in oak. The nose on this has that flabby, fruity, jammy thing that I find very off-putting. The palate is more balanced than the nose would imply, juicy red fruits with freshness. A simple daily drinker - but not my fave.
• 2016 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas Les Mejeans - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From the flat of the Cornas hill - 60 yr old vines. Aged 12-15 mos in barrel (15% new). Wait for 5 years and will age up to 15 years. Red and black fruits, cracked pepper, savory notes with softer round tannins on the finish.
• 2016 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas Les Terres Brulees - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Terre Brûlée means Burned Earth. From 30 year old vines grown at 350 meters. Aged 20 mos. in oak (15% new). Nose on this is very savory with a touch of band aid. Tastes more Cornas too me than the Les Mejeans - black currants, black pepper and grilled smokey meat, with grippy tannins - and a longer finish. Nice.
• 2014 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas La Louvée - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From Coravin - bottle opened 10 days prior. From the La Cote section of Cornas at 150 meters in the Center location - single plot. Aged 20-22 mos in barrel. Vinifed by Jean-Luc's daughter. Pure concentrated blackberries with lots of smoked meats and olive tapenade - very nice.
• 2014 Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Vines are 30-90 years old with the majority in the 60 yr old range. Aged 20 mos in oak barrel. The nose on this one is very animalistic a wild beast! This one really smells and tastes like Cornas - dark brooding fruits, earth, savory notes and ends with layer of minerals. Long finish. Tasty.

Lunch at Du Jardin a L'Assiette - Mauves

Between morning tasting visits in Cornas and afternoon in Mercurole and Mauves - this small bistro featuring farm to table local products was highly recommend by a number of people we met. They serve one dish of the day with a desert at a reasonable price. Reservations are necessary as it is small and always fully committed. The dish the day we visited was Brochette de Boeuf et reduction de vin Rouge with Creme Brûlée a la Vanille for desert. We passed on the desert but paired our beef with a glass of Cornas from Domaine Courbis, a producer we had not tried yet.

• 2016 Domaine Courbis Cornas Champelrose - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (12/13/2018)
  From the glass list at Du Jardin a L'Assiette (Mauves). More of a fruit driven Cornas - black and blue berries, with minerals and a smokiness rather than meat & savory. Very young and primary but held up well to the beef brochette with quinoa.

Aleofane - Natacha Chave tasting visit - Mercurol

We discovered Natacha's Aleofane blanc last year at the beginning of our love affair with white Rhone. It was our spring time daily drinker and we worked our way through a case - great stuff! When we were planning our trip I really wanted to work in a visit to meet her. First of all there are not that many women running their own Domaines in the Rhone and this is really one of the only Crozes Hermitage based producers that we knew. So glad that we were able to get this visit into our schedule - as Natacha was just a bundle of positive energy and so much fun to spend time with. She speaks almost no English and my French is almost non-existent (long ago remembered college french). Somehow we managed to have a fun and entertaining conversation with common "words" (not necessarily sentences) and hand gestures. My take aways - are that she has big plans to continue expanding - next up for her is a St. Joseph Blanc. But she also has thoughts about St. Peray and Cornas - so who knows? She also wants to keep her hands on in the vineyards and the cellar so dreams must be balanced with reality. She is experimenting with a new type of closure called "Ardeaseal" which was really cool looking and is supposed to be a great product. Natacha farms fully organically and by next year she will also be biodynamic. In the cellar she is perhaps a bit more modern with the use of some new oak. Natacha is the sister of Yann Chave and rather than go into the family business she decided she wanted to strike out on her own and began to acquire plots in St. Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage. The vineyards are on the flatland - and the soil is more similar to picture I have seen of Chateauneuf-du-Pape with large flat rocks.

A really charming winemaker and a terrific visit.

• 2018 Natacha Chave Crozes-Hermitage Aléofane Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/13/2018)
  From barrel sample at the Domaine. Marsanne/Roussane blend. Aged in all new oak. Golden yellow. Very fragrant with orchard fruit and white flowers. This is quite rich on palate, creamy from the new oak that needs time to absorb but with bright acidity that prevents it from feeling heavy. Quite tasty.
• 2018 Natacha Chave Crozes-Hermitage Aléofane - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/13/2018)
  From barrel sample at the Domaine. We actually tasted the two components of the wine - it is not blended until just before bottling.
  Les Chasselieres - is more fruit forward (dark fruits), quite spicy with power and firm tannins.
  Les Picheres - is softer and more elegant, the fruit is silkier and the tannins rounder - this is the more feminine of the two
  It is clear that these two will make a nice blend with Chasselieres adding power and Picheres adding the finesse.
  Barely in barrel for three months these wines are super young.
• 2018 Natacha Chave St. Joseph Aléofane - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine. Black and red fruits with a lot peppery spice on the finish.
• 2017 Natacha Chave Crozes-Hermitage Aléofane Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Marsanne/Roussane blend. Stone fruit, bright acids and minerals with a creamy mouthfeel. This is very drinkable and accessible white rhone for a great qpr. A summertime daily drinker at our house.
• 2017 Natacha Chave Crozes-Hermitage Aléofane - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. The nose on this is more to fruity/jammy side with red fruits. On the palate more balanced with red and dark berries along with some of the more savory elements and the fresh acidity. I tend to find the Crozes Hermitage rouges just a bit thin?? for lack of a better word relative to some of the higher elevation wines from the other appelations.
• 2017 Natacha Chave St. Joseph Aléofane - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. I prefer the St. Joseph rouge to the Crozes Hermitage rouge tasted side by side. The St. Joseph seems to have more concentrated dark fruit and spice, and a longer finish, more minerals. This is quite a tasty and well made syrah for the price point - good qpr.

Pierre Gonon tasting visit - Mauves

Gonon was very high on my list of winemakers to visit, so we were really happy when they agreed to visit. Like many of the other smaller producers, they prefer to take visits in the evening after the day's work has been completed. We had an appointment to meet with Pierre at 5:30 pm on Thursday. We found them around back in the winery/cellar - and proceeded to have a really amazing visit. Pierre and his brother John (who was hosting a large group of winemakers from the Loire Valley) are just awesome guys! We felt so welcome from the start. Pierre apologized for his English - but he spoke very well and we had not problems communicating with him. One of the first things we noticed on the visit were the incredibly old large open top oak fermentation barrels in the cellar. We asked Pierre how old they were and he said they dated back to 1807 - which is inscribed on one of the barrels. Unfortunately, this was the last vintage they will be used because the wood has started to deteriorate and they can not trust the security of the wine. They will retain them for keepsake purposes. We made our way down to the cellar - which also dates to the 1800's and started our barrel tasting. For the 2018's we tasted barrel separately tasted the three parcels that go into the St. Joseph (they are blended at some point before bottling) and also tasted the 2018 Vielles Vignes. Then we moved onto the 2017 St. Joseph and the Vins de Pays. We thought perhaps this might be the end but then we moved over to the other side of the cave and started sampling the bottles. We got to taste the '16, '13 and '03 St. Joseph, the '06 Vielles Vignes and the '13 and '03 Les Olivier Blanc. The 2003 Les Olivier was probably our wine of the trip - damn this was great!! Goes to show you patience with these whites will clearly be rewarded - this was other worldly.

We had the best time with Pierre, and once again we were having large pours and the visit lasted for two hours. I was really trying to be in the moment so did not take notes during the session. I am sure I cannot remember a lot of the important facts he shared with us. What I do remember is the quality of the wine and quality of the people behind it. This is a producer who truly deserves the success they are experiencing. They also believe that allowing people to come to their cellar and taste and visit is important and something they want to continue to support.

If you could only do one visit in the Northern Rhone - Gonon would be top of the list.

• 2018 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Barrel tasted at the Domaine from 3 component parts. Each from 600 liter used oak casks. We started with the Côtes des Rivoire, which comes from their youngest group of vines (~25-30 yrs old). This was very dark and dense - so concentrated and peppery - very powerful. Next was the Les Oliviers (~ 40-45 yrs old), this felt a bit more elegant than the first barrel - the tannins were less aggressive a bit silkier and the fruit was even more pure and concentrated. Moving on the final component from the oldest vines - it became even more elegant. Great fruit expression here with minerals and silky young tannins. Really interesting to taste the components in progression. Should be another stunner when it comes together.
• 2017 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Barrel sampled at the Domaine. Fully blended and a year longer in barrel - this was again so nice with concentrated fruit (blackberry, currants, cranberries), bright acids, minerals and savory action on the finish. Still super young, but another great vintage.
• 2018 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Barrel sampled at the Domaine. So I am unclear if this will be bottled as the V.V. - or if will be blended into the St. Joseph. It was presented to us as the 2018 barrel of Vielles Vignes but there is a possibility that I misunderstood. As the oldest of the vines (~90 -100 yrs) they work with - this produces only one barrel (600 liter cask all used oak). The elegance here for such a baby was pretty astounding - it was by far one of the most delightful of any of the barrel samples we tasted this week. Just really concentrated and at the same time totally refined. Terroir speaking loudly.
• 2017 Pierre Gonon Ardèche Les Iles Feray - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Ardèche (12/13/2018)
  Barrel sampled at the Domaine. I have not had the opportunity to try one of these previously so was glad for the chance to taste. Blackberry and dark red raspberry fruit, some black pepper, smoke and olive. Again the tannins are more silky. Quite nice.
• 2013 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. After barrel samples we moved on to taste from some bottles beginning with the 2013 Blanc - my first time trying to Gonon blanc. Lovely fragrance coming through from the Roussane. Pierre described the marriage of Marsanne & Roussane - as the Marsanne providing the body/stucture/skeleton of the wine - while the Roussane adds the curves/hair & makeup. Orchard fruit, nectarine & white peach, apricot, a touch of honey and then lots of minerals on the finish - lovely. Pierre said these whites will age really well - and too give them time to develop.
• 2003 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Well wow - this was knock your socks off delicious - along with the '03 Rayas Blanc - our wine of the trip. Just sensational - aromatics, mouthfeel, layers and layers of flavor and a long finish. Pierre said it was interesting as they thought this one was not going to come around and it recently blossomed into this beauty. Would love to find some of these - just amazing!
• 2016 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Tasted in a line up of '16, '13 and '03. I really liked them all so much, but probably preferred the '16 a bit to the '13 - finding it just a bit fresher with a little more drive through the finish. Very nice and would love to find some for the cellar.
• 2013 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Funny this is one of the few vintages I have tried multiple time prior. Experience was consistent - tasted next to the '16 and the '03. Of the two recent vintages I preferred the '16 as is just a bit more vibrant and lively on the palate although both are great wines. Hard to compare to the '03 which is much more mature.
• 2003 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Tasted alongside the '16, '13 and '03. This is why you need patience with these wines, the younger wines are all bright pure fruit and vibrancy which is attractive and delicious, but 15 years starts to reveal the hidden depths - smoked meats, olive brine and spice cabinet layered between the black and red matured fruit - and those minerals and silky tannin on the finish - very nice!
• 2006 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Next to the '03 Les Oliviers - this was our second favorite of the tasting. These old vine wines just really up the ante on the elegance and length of the finish. A little bit like fairy dust the way in lingers on. Such a treat!

Dinner at Le Tournesol - Tournon

Another dinner across the bridge in Tournon tonight at Le Tournesol. A bit more traditional than Le Mangevins and Assemblage, but lovely food and attentive service. After our great experience at Gonon - we were excited to see that they had the 2016 Gonon Les Oliviers on the wine list - priced very reasonably. We had not gotten to sample this vintage at the Domaine so it was a great opportunity to continue to the tasting experience. Reservations can be made via their website and are probably necessary as the restaurant was full the night we were there.

Starter: Velouté de champignons, œuf « Onsen », chips de pancetta et grisini maison
Main: Echine de porc fermier en croûte moutardée, bombine ardéchoise et sauce endiablée
Fromage

• 2016 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/13/2018)
  From the wine list at Le Tournesol (Tournon). Following are amazing tasting visit with Pierre Gonon we decided to try the 2016 blanc which wedid not get to sample at the domaine. Initially served quite chilled, thisbe ame much more expressive as it warmed up. Pretty nose of stone fruit and white flowers. Tastes of ripe white peaches and honey with some slight bitter notes of lemon pith and hazelnuts on the finish. Delicious but so young - have patience as the ‘03 we sampled earlier at the domaine was outstanding. (93 pts.)

Georges Vernay tasting visit - Condrieu

I was really excited to visit Vernay - as I one of my first experiences with Condrieu was the '13 Vernay Condriueu Coteaux de Vernon that mclancey brought to the 2017 CT Tampa Spring Break. I really enjoyed the wine, but don't tend to come across it much at offlines or retail. I hate to say this was our only kind of disappointing visit. Everywhere else we visited we were warmly received and were able to establish great rapport and connection with our hosts (both winemakers and tasting room staff), at Vernay the person manning the tasting room just did not seem to be interested in visitors. Despite having an appointment and agreeing to the payment (charged per glass depending on the wine selected), we almost had to coax them into pouring us wine. The wines however are quite lovely - particularly the Condrieu, for me the Cote-Rotie while perfectly fine was less of a standout. Definitely still worth a visit - but by far the only of our 16 visits that felt a bit flat.

We learned that Georges Vernay is referred to as the Pope of Condrieu for his efforts in helping to save Condrieu and promote the Viognier variety across the globe. He passed away this past summer and his daughter Christiane Vernay is now heading the Domaine. She is also a highly regarded winemaker and was dubbed by the press as the "Queen of Cote-Rotie" for making award winning Cote-Rotie in 2008 (I think??) what was considered a particularly poor vintage. So Vernay is proud to declare that they are the house of the Pope and the Queen.

• 2017 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de l'Empire - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From 40 yr old vines. 9 mos in oak barrel (some new). Viscous mouthfeel, bright lemony acidity followed by salinity and minerals. Almost a touch of sea spray. Quite lovely!
• 2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Chaillées de l'Enfer - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From 60 yr old vines - 1 year in oak barrel (20% new). Bottled in Italian flute style bottles - used to be bottled in Alsatian flutes but that is no longer allowed. Pretty nose. Again the viscous mouthfeel with pear/peach - but the minerals and salinity at the back palate are more evident here - really long finish. Drink within 2-4 if your prefer more freshness or 7-10 for spice cabinet, honey, cumin & licorice type flavors to develop.
• 2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. From 80 year old vines - aged one year in oak (30% new). On the nose fragrant bouquet of white flowers. Great stuff here - rich mouthfeel, almost waxy, apricot and pear, lively citrus acidity then that crisp mineral and saline finish. Explained to us as due to the depth of the old vines imparting the terroir to the wine. Drink from 2-12 years - depending on your interest or freshness or secondary characteristics.
• 2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie Blonde du Seigneur - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Primarily from Cote Blonde (Lancement, Maison Rouge, Sur Mont). 3% Viognier blended in. Hold for 5 years, can age up to 15 years. More red fruited, spiced, tannins are quite grippy with the cool vintage acidity very prominent. Needs time to come together.
• 2016 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie Maison Rouge - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Aged 2 years in oak barrel (30% new). Tasted after the Blonde du Seigneur, this comes across a bit more elegant and pulled together - tannins are a bit silkier. Still needs time - hold for 5 yrs drink over 20 yrs.

Morning drive through the hills of Condrieu & Cote Rotie

Had some time to kill after the brief tasting at Vernay and lunch in Ampuis - so we took a drive up the back roads of Condrieu and over to Cote Rotie to take some pics of the hills and vineyards.

Lunch at Bistro de Serine - Ampuis

A number of people had recommended working a lunch at Bistro de Serine into our schedule - reservations are required and can be made via their website. We are glad we did as we had a lovely lunch there on our last day in the Rhone Valley and the restaurant was packed. We also had one of our wines of the trip at this lunch - and yes I know Rayas is not a Northern Rhone wine. It was one of the older bottles on the list and priced at 170 euro - we were very excited! So yes a splurge but you never see Rayas blanc on a wine list at home and if you do it would be over $500. The somm let us know that we got the last bottle in the cellar - just sublime. The food was also really great and the service was friendly and attentive. Highly recommend.

Starter: Bavarois d'artichauts en crumble de noisettes et foie gras poêlé
Main: Supreme de chapon farci aux chatagnes oignons confit et poêlée de legumes oublies
Fromage

• 2003 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (12/14/2018)
  From the wine list at Bistro de Serine (Ampuis) - last bottle. Paired with artichoke, hazelnut and foibgras terrine and capon with root vegetables. Color is pale med yellow with some light cloudiness. Nose of orchard fruit (nectarine/apricot and honey). Tastes of stone fruit, honeyed notes, fennel with lively acid - really lovely and in a great place. Long, layered finish. This bottle, great food, the last day of our Rhone trip just a great memorable experience.

Clusel Roch tasting visit - Ampuis

When we booked the visit with Clusel Roch they had let us know that they had sold through most of their wines already and would only have a couple to taste and less to sell. I have been curious about this producer for a while but had not gotten around to trying so we decided to schedule as our last visit after our lunch at Bistro de Serine. Glad we did as I liked the wine we tried and Gaelle their family friend who works at the cellar was really sweet. We were able to purchase one bottle of the '09 Clusel Roch Cote-Rotie and she gifted us a bottle of their Gamay - as a thank you for the small gift we brought with us. Very kind of her - a short but lovely visit.

Can't believe it that was our last stop - 16 visits and a wine fair over 6 days - that is a lot of young syrah!! So much fun and very educational.

• 2016 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie Les Schistes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Dark fruits (blackberry, black currant) with quite a bit of smokiness and earth. Tannins are quite assertive - this is very young - needs at least a decade but nice structure.
• 2009 Clusel-Roch Côte-Rôtie - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (12/14/2018)
  Tasted at the Domaine. Much more accessible than the '16 Les Schistes tastes prior. Again quite dark fruited with a smokey note, but the tannins have softened and this is started to reveal some additional layers of earth and savory notes. I would still wait on this for another five years though.

Afternoon bonus bottle

After finishing up early at Clusel Roch - we headed back to the hotel to pack up for our morning departure. Realized we had acquired more bottles of wine then we could pack in our two wine suitcases - so decided to pop one open as a bonus bottle. Our lovely driver Thibault, had gifted us two bottles of wine from his friend's domaine in St. Joseph - so we decided to try one of these while relaxing and enjoying the view over the Rhone.

• 2015 Domaine de Gouye St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/14/2018)
  Our lovely driver for the week in Northern Rhone, gifted us this bottle of wine made by the father of his good friend. This is a very traditionally made wine as we saw via the you tube video featuring Mr. Desbos - foot crushing his grapes in an open vat wearing a very small speedo. We popped this open on our last night in Tain and it was quite good. More rustic with chewy tannins, and a distinct earthiness, along with dark fruit and some sauvage notes. Tastes like the terroir where it is grown, but more for the rustically inclined.

Dinner at Le Cerisier - Tournon

Our final dinner in Tain was at Le Cerisier across the bridge in Tournon. A very cold night, made for a crisp walk across the bridge, but both towns and the bridges are brightly turned out in Christmas lights and decorations so the atmosphere felt very festive.

Le Cerisier was another great meal, a bit more formal feeling than some of the other restaurants and the service was paced somewhat slowly, but a very enjoyable meal nonetheless.

Starter: Dumplings of shrimp in lime, with a broth of shells in citrus with radish crisps
Main: Shoulder of french lamb candied at low temperature for 10 hours. Served in juice of black garlic, duxelles of wood mushrooms and roasted parsnips.
Desert: poached pear

We really wanted to end the trip with an Hermitage Blanc and decided to try a producer we had never heard of before - it was also one of the older bottles on the list - 2012 Domaine Belle. Really enjoyed it.

• 2012 Domaine Belle Hermitage Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (12/14/2018)
  From the wine list at Le Cerisier (Tournon). First time with this producer and one of the older wines on the list, so we decided to give it a try. Was quite nice with honeyed notes, white peaches and pear, minerals with a touch of heat on the finish. Still quite youthful should be able to age for quite a while for more complexity.

Escaping the pouring rain at Freddy's Wine Bar - Paris 6th

We like this little wine bar close to our hotel - it has the same American owner as the wine shop Le Dernier Goutte. Great selections by the glass and bottle as well as a terrific small plates menu if you find yourself there at lunch or dinner. It was jam packed during our visit - probably do the pouring rain which put a damper on holiday shopping.

• 2015 Domaine Jamet Condrieu Vernillon - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu (12/15/2018)
  From the wine list at Freddy’s wine bar in Paris. First time trying the Jamet Condrieu and I was not disappointed. This was more in the rich full bodied style but also quite young. Nose was floral, mouth feel was weighty with white peach and pear, light honeyed notes then saline and minerals on the finish. I suspect this wil gain more complexity with another 5 years of age. Would definitely seek this out.
• 2016 Domaine Jean-Claude Marsanne St. Joseph Blanc - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph (12/15/2018)
  From the glass list at Freddy’s wine bar (Paris). Golden yellow, typical Marsanne stone fruit notes, with some light perfume on the nose. Nice for by the glass pour but does not have the complex minerality of the Gonon St. Joseph Blanc.

Dinner at Le Comptoir du Relais - Paris 6th

Great little/tiny bistro that is very casual with brisk service and really tasty food. While a reservation can be difficult to secure, if you stay in the hotel (Relais St. Germain) you are guaranteed a reservation at least one night of your stay.

Starter: Bisque chaude de homard bleu Européen
Main: Daube de joue de boeuf, pennes et carottes

Stick to your ribs food for a cold and wet evening.

• 2016 Domaine du Coulet (Matthieu Barret) Côtes du Rhône Brise Cailloux - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône (12/15/2018)
  From the wine list at Le Comptoir du Relais. A blend of Viognier and Roussane - the nose on this is very pretty with the aromatics from both the varieties. Weighty mouthfeel, but also some nice acidity keeping it fresh. Enjoyed.

A really great trip and highly recommended for any Northern Rhone enthusiast. It was really educational to see the landscape, meet the winemakers and taste so many of the wines from multiple producers. We realized that we are totally in love with the Northern Rhone whites - Condrieu, St. Peray, Hermitage, St. Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage - just really dig them. They are accessible and fresh young and become something really special with age. We probably have tasted enough super young syrah to last us for quite a while but can't wait to taste those babies again 10 -15 years. The trip to quite a lot of planning and logistics - but I am happy to share anything I learned if you want to PM me. Thanks for following along! Happy Holidays!