Sunday Wine Lunch Group does Rhones: Condrieu, Château-Grillet, '98 CdP, Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie and Cornas
Donato Enoteca, Redwood City, California
Tasted Sunday, June 6, 2010 by rjonwine@gmail.com with 603 views
Introduction
Tom, Christianne, Ash, Dan and Julie
What could be better on a beautiful Spring weekend afternoon than enjoying some great food, delicious company and fabulous Rhone wines over a relaxing four hour lunch? For me, it's about the most enjoyable and civilized way to spend a Sunday afternoon I can think of.
Our monthly Sunday wine lunch group convened once again at Donato's, because the food and service were so superb last time we met there. The food was excellent again, although a couple of the dishes didn't pair quite as well with our wines as they had on our previous visit. (Note to self: make sure to give the chef a better sense of what wines we're bringing next time.) Our wines were a real treat. We ended up with enough white Rhones (Condrieu, Château-Grillet, white Chateauneuf du Papes), no doubt partly inspired by the warm weather, to do two flights of white. Many of us were remarking that it was a long time since we'd enjoyed a flight of whites as distinctive and unusual as our first flight of fabulous Viogniers. Our third flight consisted mainly of '98 Chateauneuf du Papes, which I always enjoy, and almost all of ours showed very well indeed, with the exception of a slightly corked Clos des Papes. Our final flight, of Northern Rhones, went perfectly with our New York steak, and our '91 Chave Hermitage in that flight was my WOTD. See below for more details regarding some of the wines, including the rare Château-Grillet we tasted.
Sandi, Larry, Al and Sandy
Flight 1 - Condrieu/Château-Grillet Flight (3 Notes)
With Dan Snyder on hand (author of the most Condrieu TNs on CellarTracker), it was fitting that we had a few lovely Condrieus for lunch, in the company of a maturing Château-Grillet--the world's most ageworthy Viognier. What a treat! All three of the wines were gorgeous and distinctive, so our group rebelled when I asked them to pick a favorite. The flamboyant yet detailed Christophe Pichon was mine by a nose. The '02 Château-Grillet was much better than when I'd tasted it the year before (maybe it's coming out of its dumb period), and the Vernay Coteau de Vernon was also gorgeous. The Château-Grillet was the best match with our octopus, shrimp and white beans appetizer.
Château-Grillet is, like Condrieu, made only from Viognier, and it is one of the smallest appellations in France, at 3.8 hectares (the smallest is La Romanee in Burgundy). It is a single vineyard with one owner, the Neyret-Gachet family. Historically this tiny appellation had a high reputation, and commanded correspondingly high prices. The quality slipped in the '70s and '80s, but Isabelle Baratin, the current member of the family in charge, has been upgrading equipment, refurbishing the cellar, and hired Denis Dubourdieu (one of Bordeaux's great white wine makers) as a consultant since she was put in charge in the late '90s. Unlike most Viogniers, which are best drunk in the first two years after bottling, the best vintages of Château-Grillet are known for their elegance, minerality and finesse, and are said to be best drunk no earlier than 10 to 12 years old. Our '02 was a relative baby, then, at 8 years old, but '02 is also a Château-Grillet vintage that should be accessible younger than usual. And how fortunate that we had, in our first flight, the only other Viognier with a reputation for age worthiness alongside the Château-Grillet for comparison. According to John Livingstone-Learmonth's The Wines of the Northern Rhone, Georges Vernay's Coteau de Vernon is "a wine threaded with a steely texture when young, and one that takes several years to broaden its reserved pear-toned flavors; a wine of great longevity." It comes from the Vernays' top vineyard, 1.7 hectares on Vernon, which they bought in 2000 after having rented the site for three generations. It is aged in casks, 25% new, for 12 to 16 months. The current winemaker, Christine Vernay, believes the wine can last for 10 years, and enjoys drinking it from three to four years old. Livingstone-Learmonth insists it can last 20 years. Our '07 version, then, was perhaps too young yet to be fully appreciated, but I was quite impressed by its poise and complexity.
octopus, shrimp and white beans
Flight 2 - More White Rhones Flight (3 Notes)
Our second flight of whites was also quite good, if not quite so exotic and rare as the wines in our first flight. I always enjoy Vieux Telegraphe's Blanc, and our '07 was my favorite of this flight. The Guigal "classic" Condrieu bottling was decent Condrieu, made from fruit bought from about 40 sources in the appellation, but it was not on a level with the Condrieus of the prior flight.
crescenza with heirloom tomatoes
Flight 3 - '98 Châteauneuf-du-Pape and friend (4 Notes)
Mmmm, great Chateauneuf-du-Pape, especially from a wonderful year like '98 which is really starting to shine now, is always soul satisfying. The '98 Beaucastel showed beautifully, as did the Fortia and la Gardine. The Clos des Papes, as mentioned above, was slightly corked, so did not show as well as when I've had it before. The '01 Les Quartz was a relative baby, but showing lots of depth and great ageability. 
bigolet pasta with braised oxtail and asparagus vs. agnoloti depline (ravioli stuffed with veal, pork and rabbit)
Flight 4 - Northern Rhone flight (4 Notes)
I always love Chave Hermitage, and this '91 was just mature enough to be exhibiting a lovely mix of fruit and tertiary flavors. Many thanks to Al for sharing this with us. The Chave dominated the flight, but I also enjoyed our other wines, particularly the '99 Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes, which seems to be in its peak drinking window now. It comes from 25- to 80-year-old vines, 70 to 80% destemmed, fermented in stainless steel and then aged in used oak barrels for 18 months.
As to our two Côte-Rôties, I can't find much information on Andre Andrieux, apparently a new producer, but I believe our '07 is their first vintage. Maybe someone knows more and can fill us in on this producer. I was surprised how accessible it was for a young Côte-Rôtie. The '03 la Chatillonne from Vidal-Fleury is, of course, the one single vineyard wine that remained with Vidal-Fleury after the domaine's purchase by the Guigals in 1984. It comes from a terraced, full-south-facing vineyard of less than one hectare, 12% of which is planted to Viognier. I very much enjoyed it, although it was quite youthful yet. 
New York steak on a bed of zucchini and radicchio
Closing
As you can imagine, I was a very happy guy after this four hour idyll, a much needed respite after an otherwise long and busy week, and I very much look forward to getting together with the gang again for another civilized afternoon next month.
2007 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Light golden yellow color; nice, honey, honeysuckle, baked peach, fruity nose; tasty, poised, tart peach, honeysuckle palate with good acidity; medium finish 93+ pts.
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2006 Christophe Pichon Condrieu 94 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu
Light butter yellow color; pineapple, mineral, lemon gelee nose; tasty, floral, pineapple, mineral palate, detailed and gorgeous; medium-plus finish
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2002 Château-Grillet (Neyret-Gachet) Château-Grillet 93 Points
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Château-Grillet
Light yellow color; lime cream, hay, green herb nose; tasty, tart pineapple, ripe citrus, mineral, earthy, light green herb palate; medium-plus finish 93+ pts. (reminiscent of a mature Raveneau; great match with our octopus, shrimp and white beans dish)
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