Southern Rhone Wine Dinner w/Pierre Henri Morel

Many thanks to Susanne for alerting us to this dinner and passing along the invitation in enough time to be able to join. Pierre Henri Morel joined as well as the proprietor of the store Grapes, the US distributor, and the owner of Back Forty West. Dinner was family style and met some wonderful folks at our table.

Flight was served with:

L.I. Smoked Bluefish (golden beet salsa, horseradish creme, country toast)
Smoked pumpkin hummus (marinated olives, toasted pumpkin seeds, flatbread)

• 2011 Pierre-Henri Morel Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun Blanc 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Laudun

  I was a bigger fan of this than I expected to be although I suppose I've enjoyed White Rhones more and more lately. This was very bright, great acidity, got flavors of lime and green apple. Refreshing might be the best word for it - went very well with the smoked bluefish.

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Flight was served with:

Roasted Delicata Squash Salad (lively run goat feta, peanuts, lime)

• 2012 Pierre-Henri Morel Tavel 88 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Tavel

  Such a wonderful and bright rose. Would be great easy summer drinking although imagine it could fall flat with too much age. Cranberries jump off of the tongue with their lovely mix of sour and sweet (prob a bit more of the former, but in a nice way). As it warms a touch it becomes more of a mouthful and almost a bit chewy in the texture. Nice wine.

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• 2011 Pierre-Henri Morel Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues 85 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues

  Again a mix of Grenache/Syrah/Mouvedre, this wine was aged in a concrete vat rather than oak. At first taste this comes across as a bit flat and uninteresting. The fruit is very muted, there's a touch of spice - but not enough to stay fully interesting - very lightly tannic. My least favorite of the reds we drank that night.

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Flight was served with:

Smoked Goat Shank (cranberry bean & roasted fall vegetable stew, olive salad)

• 2012 Pierre-Henri Morel Vacqueyras 87 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Vacqueyras

  Similar to the Gigondas I ended up having an unplanned 30 minutes of breathing time for the wine which really helped it. This is more darker fruits than the Gigondas - I get a really fleshy plum, some tannin, darker pepper. With time you can get a touch more of the residual sugar and more of the candied flavor attached to that. Wine is 60% Syrah and all organically grown. Gigondas overwhelmingly preferred by the group, but I thought this one was drinking nicely too.

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• 2010 Pierre-Henri Morel Gigondas 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  Really liked this wine (esp for the price). It's a mix of 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 10% Mouvedre. Has that lovely candied cherries taste that I always get in a Grenache but is well balanced with white pepper. Had an unintended break of about 30 minutes after the first sip to when I tried again and the wine had really blossomed in that time - got much spicier with a very pleasant hint of cinnamon.

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Flight was served with:

Dry Rubbed Smoked Pork Rack (celery root puree & crispy brussels sprouts)

• 2010 Pierre-Henri Morel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 89 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  This wine is mostly Grenache with just a touch of Syrah & Mouvedre (5% apiece). It comes across very soft and sweet from the beginning, but has a rather abrupt ending that leaves you wanting a bit more. Some light black crackled pepper, paired very well with some brussel sprouts cooked in pork fat. Unfortunately a bit overshadowed by its fellow wine in the flight - the 'lieu-dit Pignan'.

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• 2010 Pierre-Henri Morel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Lieu-Dit Pignan 90 Points

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  The clear WOTN although I think the Gigondas might have been the best QPR. This wine is 100% Grenache grown mainly in sandy soil in a slightly cooler climate than the standard CDP. From 60-80 year vines. At the start I got almost a touch of alcohol, first wine that came across too young to be drinking now. It took some time to open (and was aided by some dry rubbed pork). Still has that wonderful Grenache spiciness, some nice fruit characteristics (after maybe 20 minutes in the glass). Well done wine.

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Clear winner of the night was the 'lieu-dit Pignan', but I would say the biggest surprises to me were the white, rose, and Gigondas all of which were drinking very well and at very good QPRs.