NobleRottersSydney - Rhone Valley night

Here’s a fairly rare excursion to a single overseas region for the Noble Rotters in July 2008.

• 2005 Bonpas Côtes du Rhône Réserve de Bonpas

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  {cork, 13.5%} This presents a youthful, quite restrained nose of light cherries and pepper. The palate follows with chewy, ripe grenache fruit, very upfront and undemanding. Soft and acidity and chalky grapeskin tannins comprise the medium-bodied palate of lowish intensity and shortish finish. A good food wine not needing too much though.

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• 2005 Domaine Grande Bellane Côtes du Rhône Villages Valréas

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Valréas

  {cork, 12.5%} The nose here tends more toward the smoky meats and mushroom end of the spectrum. Palate has typical chewy, ripe grenache fruits. Strong but fast-fading chalky tannins dominate a decent mid-palate, although the flavours develop a chewy, bubble-gum sweetness after a while. Still, with soft acid and only gentle intensity it’s all very much on the mild side.

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• 2004 E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  {cork, 13.5%} A fair effort for a wine produced in such quantities, this nonetheless remains pretty workmanlike. A gentle spectrum of regionally appropriate aromas appears on the nose: pepper, bubble-gum and earth. Here the nose exceeds the palate, for the fresh and tart flavours fade quite rapidly on the palate. Soft gritty tannins give it something to hang on, but all all-in-all its not much more than a sound commercial effort.

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• 2003 Château Mont-Redon Côtes du Rhône

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône

  {cork, 13.5%} Perhaps surprisingly for the vintage, the Mon Redon was the pick of these wines [4 CdRs from 04/05]. The nose is a Cote of many colours, with a spectrum of red grape aromas melding with some development of the aromatics. It’s a more integrated wine than the others, with less of the components sticking out, either on the nose or palate. Loose-knit palate, ripe and warm, with powdery tannins and an even structure. Probably at its peak, but very good.

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• 2005 Louis Bernard Châteauneuf-du-Pape

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

  {cork, 14%, A$40} Youthful but subdued aromas of vanilla and red fruits, smoke, pepper. Some depth to the nose. A ripe chewy, peppery palate, with softly chalky tannins, low-medium acidity and ripe blueberry fruits emerging. Clean and modern, weighted towards the front of the palate. A bit elemental at the moment, although I don’t think it will make old bones. Let down a bit by a short finish but overall a decent wine for the price for what can be an over-priced appellation.

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• 2000 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition

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

  {cork, 13.5%} A developing nose of great depth with deli and farmyard aromas to the fore. A long even palate is saturated with dark fruits, blood plums and spiced meats. Chalky tannins have softened out, but the wine is still medium-full bodied. Persistent in flavour and quite intense, with a medium-long finish, this is top stuff.

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• 1999 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau Flawed

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

  {cork, 14%} Corked. Hoped the mustiness would blow off, but no. Corked. No getting away from it. Bloody corked. Grrrrrr.

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• 1999 Château du Trignon Gigondas

  France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas

  {cork, 14%} Plummy and rich. Perfumed with fragrant musky aromas. Peaks on the midpalate then tails away; powdery tannins frame rich ripe fruit which combines a translucence with persistence. Medium-full bodied, with quite strong intensity and a decent length finish, this is very good without quite reaching the profound level.

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• 1999 Delas Frères Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  {cork, 12.5%} A developing nose; smoky and dusty, but remains a bit closed and sullen anyway. The palate is tight: leathery and grittily tannic, with any fruity flavours well submerged. Intense and big-boned, with a rough-hewn aspect to it, there is a faint but hard streak of greenness running underneath which makes me suspect that the fruit won’t quite keep up with the tannins as it ages. I liked it; others were less enamoured.

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• 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Château d'Ampuis

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  {cork, 13%} Step right up and smell the apricot! Lavishly perfumed, with exotic bathpowder, vanillan and nougat aromas on top of underlying red fruits. Medium bodied with powdery tannins, it’s certainly a crowd pleaser as the tropical-tinged red fruits come out to play on the palate. The palate is dry but friendly, and carries its candied and exotic form to a medium-long finish. Flamboyant and fun.

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Wine of the night? Personal style preference would dictate whether the Cote Rotie was in the hunt, otherwise a close call between the Gigondas and the Bosquet. Good wines, good night!