Introduction
I have always adored visiting the Northern Rhone. Far under the radar screen compared to say a Burgundy or Bordeaux, you really get a feeling that you are just wandering villages of humble people whose life is wine. I also find the whites here as exciting as anywhere—I am a sucker for St. Joseph Blancs, Condrieu and Hermitage Blanc. Some of the most mind boggling food and wine experiences I have had have been pairings with stunning white Rhones. And of course the reds are up there too—sexy Syrahs loaded with wild and exotic BBQ cherry cola campfirey goodness (with a dose of Viognier in Cote Rotie for a violet hit).
After my awesome Burgundy trip (www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=7853) I drove due south about 2 hours to Vienne, gateway to the Northern Rhone. The first exit off the Autoroute is for Condrieu/Ampuis, where I promptly started my tasting day with a visit to the dapper gentleman of the Rhone, Rene Rostaing.
Flight 1 - Rene Rostaing (5 notes)
A true gentleman, all class, and a great English speaker -- Rene Rostaing is a gracious host. I have been visiting him for years, watched the pain he went thru leaving Kermit Lynch (who sounds like they had a few, ahem, differences shall we say), to his eternal debate with Robert Parker on use of oak (Parker wants him to use more). Rostaing loves his '06s, calling them well balanced and classic with good weather and a great windy September. 2007 he calls good, yet ’08 was “difficult” We didn’t try any ‘08s from barrel, so I guess I’ll take his word for it.
Red
2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Cuvée Classique
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine with Rene Rostaing -- Rene likes the '06 vintage and calls it "well balanced and elegant". The Classique was fresh and bright, with some good earthy fruit. Not oozing with concentration, but a good grip and good food wine I'd bet.
Red
2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine with Rene Rostaing -- Rene likes the '06 vintage and calls it "well balanced and elegant". The Landonne was a nice step up, demonstrating all that great oozy spicy licorice. Good grip on the palate, not a lush mouthfeel today.
Red
2006 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Côte Blonde
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine with Rene Rostaing -- Rene likes the '06 vintage and calls it "well balanced and elegant". Ahhh, the Cote Blonde. Rostaing's favorite and adored wine. Silky and classy, ripe with great fruit yet refreshing. Loaded with mocha/espresso and tar.
Red
2003 Rene Rostaing Côte-Rôtie La Landonne
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine with Rene Rostaing -- Rostaing opened this for me because he says '03s have been maligned as too over the top and lacking balance. He doesn't feel it is that bad, and he likes his '03 Landonne. It IS huge and oozing with juicy fruit, but he and I didn’t find it completely lacking in complexity or balance. Sure, it is a more New-World type syrah with inky juicy grapey fruit, but some nice Cote Rotie-ishness was there too (tar, spice, earth).
White
2007 Rene Rostaing Condrieu La Bonnette
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine with Rene Rostaing -- I adore Condrieus so I always talk in depth to Roatsing about his, which I adore. He says the Bonnette is a specific site with great minerality in the soils, so he wants explosive fruit and floral notes balanced with minerality. He says the '06 DID have some residual sugar (as mentioned by Parker and other critics) because of hot weather and having to pick at phenolic ripeness at higher sugar. The '07 Bonette was showing beautifully -- a garden of white flowers (honeysuckle, orange blossom, white rose), but good balance with minerality.
Flight 2 - Lunch at Auberge de la Source, Tupin et Semons (1 note)
Rostaing told me -- bar none -- his favorite restaurant around was way up in the hills above Condrieu--Auberge de la Source.
Spectacular views of the Rhone, and absolutely packed with locals, he was dead on. A great prix fixe menu with a smoked trout, roasted local fish and fruit compote. A lovely Cheze blanc was a great match.
White
2007 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Blanc Cuvée Ro-Rée
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Lunch at Auberge de la Source above Condrieu -- I have always loved these Cheze whites, great deals too. This one struck a nice balance of honeyed fruit/hazelnut and balanced acidity/freshness. Paired great with a hearty white fish dish.
Flight 3 - Georges Vernay (6 notes)
Madame Vernay’s husband Paul is a gracious host and great English speaker. We talked more about local restaurant gossip and importer dirt as opposed to rigid analysis of the wines, but we did take a look at some gems. I guess Beau Rivage losing its one Michelin star hit Condrieu “like an earthquake” haha.
White
2007 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de l'Empire
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine in Condrieu with Paul, the affable husband of Mme Vernay. Paul says '07 was a higher acidity vintage, and this Condrieu showed some acidity/alkaline elements that were a bit harsh to me. Still, there was some of the great old Viognier element there tho. I did find it a bit less concentrated than I'd like.
White
2007 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine in Condrieu with Paul, the affable husband of Mme Vernay. Their top Condrieu cuvee, huge concentration with ripe honeyed fruit and crystallized ginger. Ripe lychee, pineapple. I don’t rate it higher because I found a tad of an alkalinity on the palate that was a bit off for me.
Red
2007 Domaine Georges Vernay St. Joseph
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Tasted at the Domaine in Condrieu with Paul, the affable husband of Mme Vernay. "Decent for '07" says Paul, definitely tight and tannic, not a huge pleasure today. Lots of the heady, peppery Rhone-ness is there tho. Palate takes your tongue off tho, haha!
Red
2006 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie Blonde du Seigneur
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine in Condrieu with Paul, the affable husband of Mme Vernay. Much easier on the palate than the '07 SJ. Rich and ripe, with the good heady Northern Rhone character and some BBQ Cote Rotie element.
Red
2006 Domaine Georges Vernay Côte-Rôtie Maison Rouge
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine in Condrieu with Paul, the affable husband of Mme Vernay. Compared to the Blonde du Siegnur, more wild berry and exotic spices. Old vines, 40% new oak.
Flight 4 - Auguste Clape (7 notes)
Visiting Clape is always a treat because Pierre Marie tastes you on every vineyard and all kinds of gems from the cellar. I met Auguste himself this time, and got to speak with him (in my rusty French) before commencing the visit with his son. Heck, I think I could pass as Auguste's son here, haha:
Pierre Marie likes the ‘06s more than the ‘07s, ’07 seems like it was a pretty cold summer in the north. ’08, which I got to try extensively from barrel, was also a cooler and rainy summer but a good September helped save the day.
Red
2008 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the Domaine with Pierre-Marie Clape himself. Clape says that ’08 was rainier than usual thru the summer but a beautiful September helped immensely. Here are notes from various cuvees in huge foudres, these will be blended later into the final various bottlings of Cornas/Renaissance. A real joy to get to try each, malo's mostly done which was good. Hard to say on a "rating" here, but Pierre Marie finds it a respectable year and these were real nice individually, so prolly a 90-93 point blend, but that's just a stab at it.
Foot of slope: Huge, silky gorgeous fruit, dense but not overpowering
Low slope, 15 year old vines: Brighter and more fleshy, with bing cherry and spice
Reynard (20 year vines): Fresh and balanced with more a peppery personality, smooth with nice fruit but not hugely deep
Petite Cote (35 year vines): More aggressive, used to blend in brightness and acidity, but good dried fruit and spice
Sabarotte (40 year vines): Verset parcel, limestone soil composition. Good balance of fruit, mineral and tannin.
La Cote (50+ year vines): Wow, spectacular pure silken chocolate cherry… I begged Pierre Marie for a few bottles of this straight and he chuckled. Mind boggling.
Red
2007 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the Domaine with Pierre-Marie Clape himself. Gorgeous, more "feminine" Clape says, with lots of rich cherry candy and mocha. A touch drying and tannic on the finish, but this is a baby Cornas after all.
Red
2006 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the Domaine with Pierre-Marie Clape himself. Wow, huge fruit and tarry spice, ultra ripe yet balanced. Loads of more exotic spices, violet, etc...
Red
2002 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the Domaine with Pierre-Marie Clape himself. After explosive '08 barrel samples and nice '07 and '06 bottle samples, the '02 was kinda outclassed. Much more vegetal and thin next to those others, but still with some earthy dusty chocolate on the palate. Hmmm...
Red
2003 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the Domaine with Pierre-Marie Clape himself. Clape doesn't malign '03 for over ripeness as much as many do, he says this wine has its place. It was a HUGE contrast to the '02 we had just tasted tho, exploding with ultra ripe fruit. Huge red licorice and cherry, but on the downside some ketchupy vegetal over cooked notes (just a teeny bit).
Red
2000 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the Domaine with Pierre-Marie Clape himself. Clape says this should be drunk soon (low acidity year). At first some vegetal notes worried me, but on the palate there was gorgeous fruit, violet wild mushroom.
Flight 5 - Dinner at Beau Rivage, Condrieu (1 note)
A few winemakers had told me that Beau Rivage had gone downhill, it had lost its Michelin star and was in a tailspin. I wouldn’t exactly say “tailspin” but I was far from dazzled by dinner. The staff was exactly as it has been my last several visits, low turnover, hehe. Friendly and polite. I actually find the wine list getting a bit tired and uninspiring, and overpriced. The prix fixe menu had some hits (trout and morels) and some misses (a breaded fried shrimp that tasted like it coulda been from a sports bar). One thing about Beau Rivage, sitting on the patio on a beautiful spring day and watching the sun go down on the Rhone while sipping a wine from within a kilometer is pretty hauntingly beautiful.
White
2007 Cave de Chante-Perdrix Condrieu
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Dinner at Beau Rivage, Condrieu -- Showing a little heavier handed than I had remembered this, but still nice and full with a viscous mouthfeel and lots of ripe viognier fruit.
Flight 6 - Pierre Gaillard (6 notes)
Pierre Gaillard is one of the leading figures in the Northern Rhone. He teams up with Cuilleron and Villard as an inseparable trio defending the glory of the local wines. They own a restaurant together (see below note about lunch), sometimes make wine from the same vineyard and hold competitions as to who can make a better one, and buddy around all over the Rhone. I spent a pleasant hour with Gaillard’s daughter in the tasting room looking at some of their latest gems. The village of Malleval is just spectacular as well, an absolute jewel in the Northern Rhone.
White
2007 Pierre Gaillard Condrieu
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the domaine with Gaillard's daughter. I kinda liked the non-designated CdR viognier better, this seemed a bit more monolithic and one dimensional. There was some nice viognier character tho and some nuttiness.
Red
2007 Pierre Gaillard Cornas
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas
Tasted at the domaine with Gaillard's daughter. I wasn't quite as crazy about this, clean and correct but pretty mouth puckering. Gaillard's daughter mentioned this is only the 2nd vintage from this vineyard.
Red
2007 Pierre Gaillard Côte-Rôtie
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the domaine with Gaillard's daughter. 30% new oak, 10% viognier. Good fresh and spicy fruit, surprisingly light yet clean on the palate. Nutty caveberry spice and dark chocolate.
Red
2007 Pierre Gaillard Côte-Rôtie Rose Pourpre
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the domaine with Gaillard's daughter. From a section of Roziers. Young and tannic of course, but still gorgeous with loads of black and tarry fruit character.
Flight 7 - Lunch at Bistrot a Vin De Serine in Ampuis (2 notes)
This is the charming bistro owned by Gaillard, Villard and Cuilleron. Great local dishes, great local wines. Downstairs is more a bar type feel, upstairs is the dining area. You are literally walking distance to Cote Blonde from here.
Flight 8 - Andre Perret (8 notes)
Always one of my favorite visits, Perret is a true Condrieu fanatic. He'll barrel taste me different parcels, different barrels of Condrieu. He loves Viognier (as do I). His Cuvee Chery is probably one of the top few Condrieus made. He is really careful on oak, using just enough to give a tad of spice (unlike Guigal’s Dorianne which I find as heavy as a Napa Chard). Perret is also very modest and unassuming, a real pleasure to visit. I find his whites more exciting than his reds, but he is putting a lot of focus and energy on his St. Joseph, and they are good spicy assertive reds.
White
2008 André Perret Condrieu
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- From barrel. Spicy and acidic now, needs a little time to come together. Always kinda tough to judge from barrel. But pure and clean, big pineapple, peach, a touch of gunflint. Very little oak influence, Perret does not use much new oak on his villages Condrieu.
White
2007 André Perret Condrieu
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- Showing beautifully, awesome fresh fruit and white flowers balanced by a zesty zing.
White
2008 André Perret Condrieu Clos Chanson
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- From barrel. A big step up from the Village wine, big beautiful fruit and spice. A good balance of that bracing alkalinity I get sometimes in these Condrieus.
White
2008 André Perret Condrieu Chery
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- From barrel. A garden of flowers like this usually is -- honeysuckle, orange and peach blossom. Ethereal balance. Still in barrel and coming together, but already showing great razor focus and balance.
Red
2008 André Perret St. Joseph
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- Andre tasted me on four separate barrels that will be blended to the straight Saint Joseph bottling. Barrels varied in age of vines, and barrel maker. 1) Older vines, Huge pepper and chocolate; 2) Neighboring vineyard, smoother and silkier with less pepper; 3) older barrel, nice silky with lots of fruit but less peppery barrel spice; 4) higher end new barrel: huge spice, blackberry, black cherry.
Red
2007 André Perret St. Joseph
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- From bottle, good grip and acidity with lots of spicy syrah character. Aggressive now, should mellow out.
Red
2007 André Perret St. Joseph Les Grisières
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- From bottle, much more explosive fresh fruit and molten pepper than the '07 Village SJ. Candied fruits and sexy oak.
Red
2003 André Perret St. Joseph Les Grisières
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Tasted at the Domaine with Andre Perret himself -- From bottle, Perret likes '03 and says it has been maligned as too heavy handed. Not sure I am so convinced, this was huge and port-like, I found it hard and pruny. Oozing with fruit (albeit over ripe / cooked), and still retaining some refreshing qualities (acidity, some freshness). Not my favorite of the day.
Flight 9 - Dinner at Reclusiere, Condrieu (2 notes)
A nice little gem in Condrieu, La Reclusiere is a good value yet classy hotel and ambitious little restaurant. An absolutely beautiful old estate, it sure is easy on the eyes:
I stayed here a few nights and dined here one evening. I have dined here many times and always found it a nice, laid back place not trying to be too much but making more effort than just a normal bistro. Not usually busy and for some reason they are against any kind of even low-volume music, so it can be stiflingly quiet in there with just the sounds of the clinking of forks on plates and pots in the kitchen (I wanted to bring my iPod and mini speakers for cryin out loud). A tad expensive for food and wine, but a nice prix fixe menu.
White
2007 Alain Paret St. Joseph Blanc Les Larmes du Pere
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, St. Joseph
Dinner at Reclusiere, Condrieu -- Next to the Cuilleron this showed heavy handed and more one dimensional, with candied pear and banana overtones. Very unctuous yet lacked freshness on the palate.
Flight 10 - Delas (7 notes)
A very pleasant visit to Delas tasting room (tip: open Saturdays, so a good one to save for the weekend) where the tasting room manager had just finished a stint as a sommelier in London. So his English was great, he was enthusiastic, and he led me thru a few of their gems.
White
2006 Delas Frères Hermitage Blanc Marquise de la Tourette
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- This was showing so much oak at this point that I liked the lower end whites better, at least on this particular day. The oak did have a hedonistic side, adding voluptuousness. There was some fresh acidity but also an alkalinity I wasn't crazy about. Hmmm, enigmatic. A big white.
Red
2006 Delas Frères Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- Much more earthy and raw next to the velvety violety Cote Rotie. "Rustic" is what the tasting room manager called it. As opposed to bright and expressive fruits and spices, here you got more that cave smell, roasted meats, brambly raspberry, etc...
Flight 11 - Lunch at Tournesol, Tournon sur Rhône (Hermitage) (1 note)
Hugely recommended at the Delas tasting room, this lunch was just phenomenal. An explosion of fresh springtime ingredients in every dish. Beautiful historic stone interior with diffuse light everywhere. Perfect jazz playing at just the right background volume. One of the best of the trip, check out the beautiful main course...
Flight 12 - Chapoutier (13 notes)
Ahhhh, the pilgrimage to the Chapoutier tasting room. I have been coming here for years and think it is a real gem because it's open Saturday and Sunday, and they actually pour insanely good high end stuff if they sense that you are really interested. And unlike the staggering capitalism of Napa Valley these days where you are in the hole $100 a person in tasting fees and inundated with "wine of the month club" invites by noon, there are no tasting fees or pressures to buy. The tasting room can get busy, and there are 2-3 people behind the bar at any given time. All usually excellent English speakers (sometimes they are interns from Australia or such). Always interesting to watch people -- some locals just come in, taste a Rose, buy a case and leave. I linger as long as possible and try to jostle the single vineyard Hermitages out of the staff, hehe...
White
2008 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Les Meysonniers
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- Just bottled. A decent value white, with some nice white floral notes. But I got an alkalinity and this "crushed Flintstones vitamins" that I get in Rhone whites sometimes that I am not sure I am crazy about.
White
2006 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- Silky and huge, with green olive and honeyed nuts. Pure silk, butterscotch. I didn’t rate it higher because of a slight glue element, but a .375 opened (see above) that I purchased here this day was staggering. Maybe the bottle in the tasting room was off a bit, or open too long?
Red
2006 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie Les Bécasses
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
Tasted at the Domaine -- Classic and sleek, almost a grass fed raw beef nose and touch of cat's pee like a Sancerre! A bit of an oddity, but the sheer uniqueness and expressiveness I gave points to.
Red
2006 M. Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- You know, I am just not sure I am a Sizeranne fan. After being underwhelmed by the thinness of a recent batch of '00s I bought, I am not sure this is a wine I'd seek out. Here today at the Chapoutier HQ, it disappointed again. It came across oaky, tight and a bit bitter. Food helps immensely, I have seen that, but not a joyous experience at the price!
Red
2006 M. Chapoutier Crozes-Ermitage Les Varonniers
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- I liked this better than the Sizeranne! More freshness and expressiveness, with some valve grease almost like a German Riesling. Deep dark earth there too. Nice.
Red
2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Tasted at the Domaine -- A generous taste in the tasting room. Silky, yet a tad more soaked oak feeling than I would have liked. Good grip. Some balsamic/soy you get in the wilder red Hermitages. Slightly disappointing, but the pedigree flashes in and out as you taste.
Red
2006 Domaine Bento & Chapoutier ex aequo
Portugal, Lisboa, Vinho Regional Lisboa
Tasted at the Domaine -- Wow, I had never seen or heard of this, what an explosion of oozing hedonistic fruit, licorice and spice! A sultry hedonistic wine, the Rombauer chard of unheralded world reds, haha!
Flight 13 - Hike up Hermitage Hill (0 notes)
For those who are ambitious and in somewhat OK shape (I am barely on the edge of that), a hike up Hermitage Hill is a good way to spend an hour or two. Walk along the little street bordering the hill at the end of the street Chapoutier is on and you will see this entrance:
Go up the trail -- it forks off often so "upward" should be your main guide -- take it slow if you need to, some of it is pretty steep. Decent shoes are needed too, some step spots are pretty crumbly and slippery. When you reach the top you will be greeted with gorgeous views and a seat among one of the world's most heralded vineyards...
Flight 14 - Dinner at Chaudron, Tournon sur Rhône (Hermitage) (1 note)
The "Last Supper" was a goodie, at the legendary Chaudron walking distance from my hotel (Hotel Azalees, great deal). A legendary wine list, not cheap I’d say but amazingly good deals considering what it is (Chaves going way back etc). Was kinda wined out so just had a few glasses of Graillot's beautiful Crozes Blanc. Sat outside on the patio and toasted to an amazing week in the Rhone!
White
2007 Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage Blanc
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
Dinner at Chaudron, Tournon, France (Hermitage) -- By the glass, an absolutely great food wine with fish appetizer and lightly prepared chicken dish. Great balance of fruit, spice and floral elements, all with bracing acidity. Bravo!
