Trip to the Southern Rhone
Avignon, Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and the Dentelles du Montmirail
Tasted Thursday, June 11, 2009 - Friday, June 12, 2009 by Paul S with 1,101 views
Introduction
We were based in Avignon, and our visits were guided by Oliver Hickman, a finance guy from London turned small landowner and grape-grower / winemaker in Sablet. Mixed bag of visits, with Beaucastel and Pegau being outstanding for their wines and La Verriere for its food and beauty. Much of the trip was spent traversing the gorgeous Provencal countryside as well, looking at the different vineyards from the rocky galets of Mont Redon to the sandy soils of Pegau. We also took time to stop by two of France's "official" most beautiful villages, Crestet and Seguret, which was to us tourists the epitome of Provence's charm and beauty.
Flight 1 - Château de Beaucastel (6 Notes)
One of my favourite houses, and our first visit for the trip. Lovely estate, very high-tech winemaking. We saw them in the midst of blending the 2008 CdP, which was quite interesting. Interesting to note that Jacques Perrin had set in place most of the innovations used today, especially the flash-heating of the grapes to prevent rot and oxidation. No wonder they pay homage to him. Tasted some nice wines, the pick of the lot being the very interesing Rousanne VV.
Flight 2 - Chateau de Saint-Cosme (5 Notes)
I was looking forward to this visit to this domaine / negociant house after trying some of Louis Barruol's single vineyard Gigondas bottlings like the Valbelle and the Hominis Fides. Those really blew my socks off. The visit was a little disappointing though. We had a lovely tour of the old cellars (which were really rather mucky) and the new one (which was far cleaner and more organised). The old cellars were certainly the oldest we had seen in our whole trip to France, with some fermentation vats dug into the grown which had been dated back to Roman times. The wine tasting was just so-so though. Some pretty good negociant bottlings (labelled St Cosme) and a nice Gigondas (domaine bottled, labelled Chateau de St Cosme), but the big guns remained hidden. Still though, this is certainly a promising house, with plenty of good wine produced at a very decent price. Certainly one to look out for in the future.
Flight 3 - Dinner at Christian Etienne, Avignon (1 Note)
The old one Michelin starred stalwart of Avignon. The meal was great overall, but a little imbalance. Some courses were so-so, but when Christian Etienne hit the heights, his dishes were some of the most exciting, adventurous and surprising I have come across anywhere in the world, yet all still staying faithful to Provencal style. The best example of which was the awesome terrine of duck foie gras with asparagus which was cut into cubes and semi melted with a hot consomme. We only wanted one bottle of wine, and the sommelier made a wonderful recommendation that went well with almost every dish we had in the 8 course degustation.
Flight 4 - Domaine Pegau (6 Notes)
This was the highlight of our Southern Rhone leg. We were hosted by Laurence Feraud, who was such an arresting character. She is clearly a perfectionist, very hardworking, very no nonsense, yet someone who obviously has a passion for life, for her wines and with a great sense of confidence that she makes some of the very best the appellation can offer. At the same time, she is also very business minded, with her mind clearly on the bottom-line - something that reminded of the fact that she has been at this for barely more than 20 years. Pegau means "wine pitcher" in the Provencal langauge, and the winemaking reflects traditional roots. Wood of the highest quality is used - only Francois Freres - yet most of it goes into foudres after fermentation in cement vats, with only the rarest amount of wine finding their way into barriques. Of the 18.5h of CdP vines spread across the appellation, 16h are more than 60 years old. The standard reservee gets approximately 85% grenache, 9% syrah and a little mixture of the other stuff. All 13 grapes go into the Da Capo, which is only made in exceptional years. So stringent is Laurence with that rule that 2005 was left out. She said 2003 was an abberation - the only year that she had to acidify. You can tell the winemaker's touch and ethos from the wines - all of which are of the every highest quality.
Flight 5 - Tasting lunch of Chêne Bleu wines at La Verriere (4 Notes)
Quite an experience this. We were driven to an absolutely stunning, ultra-luxe hill-perched villa complex in the Vaucluse region, right on the Dentelles de Montmirail for this lunch. The chef, Olivier, whipped up a fantastic lunch with lovely foie gras, ravioli, fresh prawns etc all seasoned with fresh herbs grown on site - each to be paired with Chêne Bleu wines which are made at La Verriere with grapes grown in 100% biodynamic vineyards in the nearby hills. They are trying to do a "super-Tuscan" in Provence. Making high quality, super high-priced wines in an unfashionable area. Very modern winemaking, with lots of emphasis on making smooth, internationally styled wines. A pity. They are certainly doing great work in the vineyard and the cellar - no expense is spared, fruit quality is excellent, but the wines though very well-made are all slightly characterless. For this price, one would really expect something beyond a merely "well-made" wine. The less-manipulated white was superb though, hopefully the winemakers will start having more confidence to do less with the reds.
Flight 6 - Roger Sabon (5 Notes)
Our last tasting of the trip, undertaken after a lovely tour of some of Provence's most pretty villages. I thought this was a little of an anti-climax. Very modern set-up, guests are received in a very Californian tasting room, where all manner of Sabon memorabilia from caps to polo-Ts were on sale. As expected, tasting was done "cellar door" style over the counter with little interaction with the wine-makers. The first time we encountered that in France. Wines were not all that exciting either, although it must be said that we did not get to try the "Secret de Roger Sabon", their top cuvee. The ones we did try from the 2006 vintage were solid, but unspectacular. Nice, traditional style. These wines need some time to open up and blossom, something which was obvious from the fact that even the 2006s, which should be friendlier a vintage than for the previous few years, had a tight-coiled feel to them. This is probably a place to go for well-priced, reliably good, traditional CdP. Nothing to set the pulse racing at the levels we tried though.
2007 Château de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône Coudoulet de Beaucastel 92 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
(6/11/2009)
2007 is by all accounts a stunning vintage in the Southern Rhone, and this was by far the best Coudoulet I have ever tried. 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 20% Syrah and 20% Cinsault from 65 year old vines - incidentally the same age as those used for the CdP. THe result was a lively nose of cherries, meat, pepper and garrigue, with a palate showing just superb balance, with grippy but very melted tannins and juicy acidity highlighting sappy sweet cherries, spice notes and a lovely minerality. Lots of power all the way into a longish finish with flecked with raw meat, white pepper and stony mineral notes. An excellent wine that could pass as a quality CdP in any other vintage.
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2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/11/2009)
Classic Beaucastel 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 10% Syrah, 10% Counoise, 5% Cinsault and 15% "others". 2006 is yet another great year in the Southern Rhone, yet while friendlier and more immediately charming, it seems to lack the nobility and all round perfection of the 2007 vintage. Nevertheless, this was a lovely wine. One of the more forward young Beaucastels of recent times, it had lots of charm on the nose with peppercorn, spice and lavender sprinkled over a melange of red fruits - dark cherries, berries et al. Very clean feel to the palate, with lots of fruit including touches of fleshy dark cherry along with a nice spiciness. Very complete, very round in the mouth with silky, slightly powdery tannins, yet with lots of elegance. Finish was decent, with more berries in the mouth, a hint of garrigue and a final touch of mineral. Very nice drinking even now, although I am sure it will age effortlessly for another decade or more at the very least.
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1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 93 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/11/2009)
A rather different experience from the last time I tried it. This had developed somewhat, but is still far too young. The quality of the 1998 vintage shows, but really does need more time to truly unfold. Lovely nose though - melted licorice, red meat, dark fruit, tobacco, earth, leather, a touch of animale. Very complex, with plenty of richness. The youth of the wine really stood out on the palate though. Tannins were rather resolved. They were ripe to begin with, but had now taken on a soft, velvety feel. On a whole, the wine had come together somewhat, feeling nicely rounded and complete. Almost too round and friendly for a Beaucastel at this age! The fruit was still rather monolithic on the mid-palate though, lots of dark berries buried under licorice and pepper and plenty of spiciness still. Only towards the finish did it open up and fan out, with a long pull of sweet, dark cherries seasoned with wood spice - very Grenache. A really long finish it was too though. This is a very nice wine, but it needs a long time yet.
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1986 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Flawed
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/11/2009)
I got quite excited when I saw an old bottle being pulled out from the stash during our tour of the cellar. Pity this turned out flawed. Just a hint of TCA I thought, but certainly enough to mute the wine. The nose opened with that dreaded, slightly wet cardboardy smell. We were able to pick up nice secondary smells underlying that, with meaty notes, sous bois, boiled herbs and some wet fur along with dark plum and creme de cassis fruit. The bouquet would have been quite beautiful in its day I think, with plenty of complexity apparent even now. The palate was all but dumb though. There was still fresh acid and some tannins but the rest was all but flat, with just hints of sweet red fruits in the form of little cherries and berries. Finish had plenty of freshness still, but the flavours were short and truncated, with a touch of prunes quickly overtaken by more cardboard scents. I am not sure this would have been a great wine to begin with, and the TCA certainly condemned it to forgettable mediocrity.
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2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 92 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/11/2009)
Very interesting wine this. 80% Rousanne, 15% Grenache Blanc, 5% Bourboulenc, Clairette and Picardin. Pale yellow gold. The nose on the wine just explodes out of the glass. Lots of perfumy notes, first almost bursting with white flowers, and then apricots and peaches, yellow fruit and little pineappley tropical tones. Just a little more reserved on the palate. Slightly creamy, oily textured, with the low acidity giving a nod to the large proportion of Rousanne in the blend. Again, there were tropical notes of pineapples and lychees here, with a touch of beeswax and some lemon cream. Decent finish had a little mineral streak running through it. Very nice, though I can imagine this would not be a wine for everyone.
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2007 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes 94 Points
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
(6/11/2009)
From 85 year old Roussanne wines, this was clearly several steps up from the CdP Blanc. Nose was deeper, more restrained, but unfolded in lovely white flowers, musk, nectarine and banana like yellow fruit and then opened even more to show sweet, sticky pineapples and a whole melange of nutmeg-like spices. Really intriguing. Tons of interest on the palate too. Oily Roussanne texture. Spicy again, with lots of yellow fruit packed in along with startling pure lychee and pear flavours with a rim of beeswax - it had a profound depth to it. The finish rounded the wine off as it started, with lots of power, yet a lovely restraint, unfolding into a long fruit and spice driven tail, with sticky yellow figs, spiced fruits and nutmeg swirling around the mouth. Very, very good. Time to drink up over the next 4-5 years, or wait for it to shut down and revive over the next two decades.
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