Rule the Rhone
Northern & Southern Rhone
Tasted Thursday, October 27, 2016 - Thursday, November 3, 2016 by MC2 Wines with 1,075 views
Introduction
Earlier this year our tasting group opted to a Rhone tasting (of course no relation to our planned trip here this fall) and the procurer of the winning wine received a decanter which was aptly termed 'Rule the Rhone'. That seems a fitting enough title for our story as well.
Flight 1 - Lunch @ Maison Pic (1 Note)
What a delightful way to start the Rhone portion of our trip. We took the train from Nice to Valence and made a detour to this restaurant en route. Our first 3 Michelin stars in France and it did not disappoint. I don't think I've ever been so excited to enjoy a dish of cabbage.
Flight 2 - An evening on a balcony in Tain (4 Notes)
One of the group members secured a room with a balcony and on the first night we opted to do some bread and cheese and wine as our dinner. Quite a delightful little feast. Beverages were a mix of those picked up earlier in the week in various locales as well as one from a tasting room in town. The two older wines we brought were from a wine store in Nice that had quite the collection (first growth back to 1920's) although perhaps a slightly higher price tag than one would have hoped for. A lovely beginning nonetheless.
Flight 3 - The behemoth of the Norther Rhone (E. Guigal) (10 Notes)
I'll admit I approached this tasting with some trepidation. Guigal is a very large producer with a broad range of wines and I thought it would feel quite corporate and that the tasting itself would mostly focus on the lower end wines. In fact, I found the tour very informative. While a barrel is a barrel and a tank is a tank, the level of automation that they have achieved is much higher than I have seen in other places. All they way to filling the bottles and packing the cases (although not the wooden ones which must be done by hand). Makes sense though as only 20 people work there and the place produces about 1.8 million bottles of wine per year (including the negotiant wine). Very intriguing to taste through the line-up and gave me a much better feel for some of the regions in the Northern Rhone. The La Turque was a standout, but then isn't it always?
Flight 4 - Lunch in the village of Ampuis (2 Notes)
What a wonderful spot. Thankfully we had thought to make a reservation a few months before and they still had said reservation else we would not have been dining. The menus were all on a chalkboard which we did not realize at first and so when she offered to give us an English menu we did not expect that meant she'd have to carry a large board upstairs. The wine list was very fun with many wines from the region and truly reasonable mark-ups. Unfortunately no more of the Rayas rouge, but the blanc was excellent and it was fun to try an older Cote Rotie.
Flight 5 - A tasting with our friend Rene (Rene Rostaing) (4 Notes)
We found ourselves wandering the suburbs of Ampuis looking for RR. Eventually had to call and as all we could really see were houses and so a lovely gentleman came out to fetch us from near the Guigal Chateau. He humbly introduced himself as Rene and took us to what looked similar to a garage with a basement where he had his barrels and ran the tasting. Perhaps five minutes later it became quite clear that Rene was indeed the Rene and he does much of the work for the winery. His conversation was lively as he took us through a number of different wines and he was a good sport while posing for some additional photos.
Flight 6 - A tasting on the hotel patio overlooking the Rhone (2 Notes)
On our way back from Ampuis we did stop at Cave de Tain which had apparently received some very good reviews, but not from us. We tried tasting through a few of the bottles, but after the wonderful wine we'd had in the afternoon it just didn't quite connect and so accepted defeat and went back to the hotel to try some more of the stash.
Flight 7 - A winery reinvented (Paul Jaboulet Aine) (6 Notes)
I was very much hoping that before we left we could do a line-up of each of the different appellations in the Northern Rhone side by side to understand the differences and so it worked quite well that there was just such a tasting on the menu. I'm afraid that often with these wines what we were meant to get was the opposite of what I actually tasted. I've recorded my impressions here and at times will add some notes to the points that were spoken.
Flight 8 - The seventh generation (M. Chapoutier) (5 Notes)
Right around the corner from Jaboulet which worked quite well. We seemed to arrive at the same time as a large tour group, but quickly found our person for the vineyard tour and then the tasting. We opted to upgrade to the high end wines and so went through most of the upper echelon except for L'Ermite. What hit me most is how incredibly different the same grapes from the same appellation but just a bit higher up or further east or in a sunnier spot could be. I also had no idea of the breadth of offering - over 160 different wines are produced. For me everything we tried was too young, but had lots of promise. Will search them out in the States. All wines poured from tasting half bottles at cellar temp.
Flight 9 - Le diner de la truffe (1 Note)
One of the members of our party opted to spend a few days in Alba before joining us and procured a 'condiment' (aka - a white truffle). We found a lovely little pizza and pasta restaurant and proceeded to order a number of different things. As we are folks who like to come prepared, it also so happened that we had a truffle shaver and glove and so were able to transform the foie gras ravioli and white pizza and fettucine carbonara into ode de truffe. Sadly, the wine did not quite keep up with the rest of the meal, but it is hard to have everything and it's not like we have been going thirsty on this trip.
Flight 10 - Welcome to the Southern Rhone - tastings on the patio (10 Notes)
We shifted North to South on Sunday which worked well as very little seems to be open on the day of worship. Opened a number of our own bottles to get in the mood on the first night before our dinner in the castle outside of town and this became a tradition we repeated each night thereafter. These were drunk over multiple nights so tasting notes can span multiple days. There was a bottle of 2012 Clos du Caillou Reserve was popped, but didn't want to double-up notes as I wasn't taking as detailed ones for any of these.
Flight 11 - Dinners @ Chateau Fin Roches (3 Notes)
There were multiple of these with a bottle at each. I could separate them so you get a purely chronological view, but I think unnecessary in this instance. Needless to say that for a place that was a castle, I'd have hoped for older (and less pricey) wine list, but each of these selections we're great. We also had a Beaucastel '06, but as I wrote a note when we tried it at the tasting room I did not include it here.
Flight 12 - Home of the Q1 Rhone Winner - Le Clos du Caillou (4 Notes)
This was a winery that was off our radar until we ran the tasting and the 2009 Reserve was the winner. We were lucky to be able to secure an appointment the day before All Saints. Great education (different soil types, geography of the valley, approach to wine making, history of the estate) and of course wine. Walked away with a few of the Reserve which I look forward to having again.
Flight 13 - Tasting room in town - Trintignant (2 Notes)
I didn't think I'd heard of this winery (nor the acting family that is apparently the more famous side of it - perhaps a bit of a red flag). What drew us to the tasting room on the street was the feeling of walking into a cave and the promise of many older vintages. When I went to go type notes though I realized that these guys made the older bottle of white that we tried earlier in our travels. Interesting to see the younger versions.
Flight 14 - Tasting room in town - Famile Perrin (7 Notes)
At times I wonder if we really get the best stuff on the other side of the Atlantic, but this raised my hopes. There was a clear step up here versus the quality of some of the other places that we visited and it was heartening to note that many of the wines are available at very reasonable prices in NYC (thanks very much to my JJB guy). Excellent host as well who worked to take us through some lesser known offerings and not just the standard wine.
Flight 15 - Trip Advisor #1 CdP Lunch (1 Note)
We showed up to the town on a holiday weekend so only about half of the restaurants were open and all were boasting >1 hour waits. Miraculously we found ourselves in a table in the back of La Maisouneta. Excellent lunch menu with a mediocre wine list.
Flight 16 - Tasting room in the town - Vinadea (4 Notes)
Perhaps not my favorite visit that we made. It was busy given the holiday week and so we kept losing the person who was pouring us glasses and she kept pouring wines that were
Flight 17 - Picnic at the Pont du Gard (2 Notes)
Coordinating what were at the time eight schedules is never easy and so when we finally found a week spanning a Thurs to a Thurs no one really questioned it. Turns out France had a national holiday on the Tues (All Saints Day) and winery visits were not possible. Thus, we found ourselves doing some sightseeing in the local area. This was a beautiful park and would have been interesting to walk around it a bit more. Wines were also good.
Flight 18 - Back in town - tasting @ the Cave St Charles (6 Notes)
Another one of those places with just the right ambiance. It's likely the former cellar for the pope's wine which has been reconstructed to be a tasting room. Interesting to taste through the 3 styles - contemporary, old school, and neoclassical.
Flight 19 - Classic CdP - Pegau (7 Notes)
En route to the winery we were having a discussion on the correct pronunciation having heard it pronounced two different ways. Funny then that one of the first learnings of the tour is there is a pronunciation used by most of France and another used by people in the area of the winery and so I suppose both acceptable. We came very familiar with the Reserve Cuvee and somewhat familiar with the da Capo and not at all familiar with the rest of the line-up. I'd say the Laurence was a good find and something I will search out again. The lower end of the range is the kindof quaffable wine I'd drink if I was out with friends who would not feel the need to spend as much for the wine as for the food they are eating. Best learning - this is one of the few places we've visited who does not destem at all.
Flight 20 - Lunch by the castle - Cave de Verges (1 Note)
While indeed this is a beautiful view which seemed to be what most of the reviews online remarked on, the food was also quite tasty. Very much enjoyed some fresh pasta, lamb, and duck.
Flight 21 - Wine of the Popes - Clos des Papes (5 Notes)
This was maybe the only tasting we did where the person who was going through with us did not speak English and so I split time between trying to translate with my (very) mediocre French and taking notes. Excellent tasting though - every wine we tried I thought was a standout.
Flight 22 - Beaucastel Estate - the family of Perrin (6 Notes)
The last visit of our trip and also a point where Mistral (northern winds) seemed to be in full force. It is a beautiful facility. Also one of the only ones that we went to where it was one contiguous property versus owning a bunch of different plots. Great tasting with Francois through different wines. Sounds like the varietals are part of what drives the uniqueness here. A real commitment to Roussanne on the white side and Mouvedre on the reds. As those are two of my favorite varietals, I really enjoyed this.
Closing
And we come to the end. It was a whirlwind week and quite a few wines and quite a few experiences. It's hard to really pick highlights. Have been mulling these last 24 hours on what stands out to me. The Rayas white we had at lunch the first day definitely does. As does the '12 La Turque, meeting Rene, the La Chapelles, the tasting at Chapoutier, the Clos des Papes, the Beaucastels, the ... well, it's tough.
There were a number of great lines and experiences, but I like to think the trip was summed up by:
"Everything is possible" (uttered by a waiter in Nice when discussing a truffle menu)
(I'd add a footnote to that - except perhaps finding Rayas in the Rhone region almost at all although we did manage to secure one bottle. We did not have any luck with Hommage or Cuvee da Capo)
But seriously, we managed to have a most amazing trip. Many thanks to our planning committee who made it happen and looking forward to the upcoming limerick. Amazing learnings. I understand both regions infinitely more than I did before and think it's hard to imagine having created a better experience. Looking forward to the next one!
1998 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(10/27/2016)
Also the Centenaire, but didn't see a specific wine for it and this is certainly our label. Ordered off of the wine list at Maison Pic in Valence. Wine started a bit musty and actually was a bit surprising to me. My only other experience with Caillou was very bright red fruits, but this was mostly leather and cigar dominated. Opened and decanted and maybe at the very end there was a bit of fruit that poked it's way through. Wish we'd had time for a longer decant. Enjoyable wine.
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