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2007 France Trip - Cheze, Faury, Ferraton, Coursodon
Northern Rhone
Tasted May 15, 2007 by Siggy with 1,468 views
Flight 1 - Domaine Cheze (13 notes)
We met with Alexandre Poinard from Domaine Cheze, a 30 hectare family producer in St. Joseph. The domaine also produces wine, in conjunction with three other growers, under the name “Les Vignobles de Seysseul”. This was a nice introduction to a domaine with some tasty offerings.
White
2006 Domaine Louis Cheze Condrieu Cuvée Pagus Luminis
Barrel sample. Still undergoing fermentation. Seems to have bright tropical fruit and good density.
Red
2006 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Cuvée des Anges
In barrel 4 months; still very oaky. Seems to have purple fruit, tar, and coffee flavors. Primal and well structured. Promising.
White
2005 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Blanc Cuvée Ro-Rée
Darker gold color. Honey, hazelnuts, bananas. Showing some oak/vanilla. Good density and weighty mouthfeel.
White
2005 Domaine Louis Cheze Condrieu Cuvée Pagus Luminis
Smoky, spicy nose. Sweet peaches. Fresh and simple.
Red
2005 Domaine Louis Cheze Syrah Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes
Dark. Vegetal nose. Spicy and rustic. Hot, peppery, and green.
Red
2005 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Cuvée Ro-Rée
Smoky purple fruit on the nose. Blackberries, soy, and char. Moderate ripeness. Very tight.
Red
2004 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Cuvée Prestige de Caroline
Reticent nose of high-pitched red fruit. Dusty, smoke/ash. Somewhat under-ripe/green.
Red
2005 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Cuvée Prestige de Caroline
Riper nose. Dark fruit. Violets, espresso, crushed blackberries, ink. Nice concentration. Ultra-fine, ripe tannins. Very good.
Red
2004 Domaine Louis Cheze St. Joseph Cuvée des Anges
Nose of high-pitched red fruits and sous bois. Good ripeness. Dark cherries and smoke. Big fruit, well balanced. Excellent.
Red
2004 Les Vignobles de Seysseul Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Sixtus
100% Syrah. 6000 bottles produced. Dark color. Fireplace ash. Medium-weight black raspberry fruit and smoke. Good ripeness. Showing a fair amount of oak.
Red
2004 Les Vignobles de Seysseul Saxeoleum
100% Syrah from 6 year old vines. Very dark. Smoky, gamy nose. Floral, ripe, smoky purple fruit. Great structure. Impressive.
Rosé
2006 Les Vignobles de Seysseul Rosa
100 bottles produced. Neon pink color. Fruity and flinty, showing dry watermelon, strawberry, and peach. Nice fresh mineral flavors.
White - Sweet/Dessert
2004 Domaine Louis Cheze Condrieu Grains de Camille
Late-harvest. Candied apricots, peach syrup. Floral. Nice and light, with no heaviness. Low acid. Very good.
Flight 2 - Domaine Philippe Faury (7 notes)
We headed up to Chavaray for a meeting with Lionel Faury, Philippe’s youngest son. This was my first experience tasting Faury’s lineup of wines, and I was very impressed.
White
2005 Domaine Faury Condrieu
Oaky nose. Citrus, minerals, and limes. Fresh and zesty, with bright fruit. Excellent.
Red
2005 Domaine Faury St. Joseph (Hedonism)
Complex nose of blood and pure red fruit. Tobacco leaf/cigar. Complex and dense. Baking spices. Excellent.
Red
2005 Domaine Faury St. Joseph La Gloriette Vieilles Vignes
Complex, layered nose of red and black fruits, soy. Meaty, bloody, and perfumed. Iron/mineral. Nice ripeness. Big structure and ripe tannin. Great old-school St. Joseph. Excellent.
Red
2005 Domaine Faury Côte-Rôtie
Smoky, fragrant nose. Violets, iron, and minerals. High-toned, nicely ripe fruit, baking spices, and tobacco. Ripe tannins. Well structured and balanced. Very good.
Red
2006 Domaine Faury St. Joseph (Hedonism)
Tasted through 4 barrel samples from different parcels. The 2006 looks to be very promising, with good concentration and perfume, a red fruit profile, and lots of structure.
Red
2006 Domaine Faury St. Joseph La Gloriette Vieilles Vignes
Tasted through 3 barrel samples from different parcels. These were more backward and reductive than the basic St. Joseph barrels, but still very promising overall. Well concentrated, dense, pure red fruits. Well-structured and fragrant.
Red
2006 Domaine Faury Côte-Rôtie
Tasted through 2 barrel samples from different parcels. From an old oak barrel, I picked up lots of spicy, pure red cherry fruit. A new oak barrel showed more structure and drier tannins. The final blend here should be very good.
Flight 3 - Lunch @ Le Chadron, Tournon (1 note)
Le Chadron is a fun restaurant in the town of Tournon, right across the Rhone river from Tain. It is a favorite with the local winemakers. Last year I ate a meal that came with a huge pile of green beans, which to this day remain the best green beans I have ever had. I kept things simple this time, ordering roast chicken with potatoes, lemon peel, thyme, and rosemary. It was delicious.
Red
2004 Domaine Des Hauts Chassis Crozes-Hermitage Les Chassis
Grapey, and smoky. Well-balanced. Nice ripeness and concentration. Young but nicely approachable. Excellent.
Flight 4 - Ferraton Pere & Fils (14 notes)
This was one of the most educational and informative visits on our trip. Ferraton is a fourth-generation family company (domaine and negotiant) with a wide lineup of wines. Sigfried Pic drove us halfway up the hill of Hermitage for a view/tour of Ferraton’s parcels on the hill. Later we drove over to Crozes to look at “Le Grand Courtil”, a vineyard on a different type of soil. I learned a lot about the difference between Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph – to overgeneralize a bit, wine from Crozes tends to have rounder fruit, softer tannins, and earlier drinkability, whereas St. Joseph tends to be more minerally and leaner, thanks to its granite soil. Our tasting was well-organized, and several of the wines were excellent.
White
2006 Ferraton Père & Fils St. Joseph Blanc La Source
Sees 15% new oak. Orange peel, vanilla spice. Round and ripe. Fragrant, with good acidity and balance. Tasty.
White
2000 Ferraton Père & Fils Ermitage Blanc Le Reverdy
50% Marsanne / 50% Rousanne. Medium dark gold. Advanced aromas and flavors of honeyed nuts / nut oils. Seems to be in an oxidative phase, or perhaps just starting to re-emerge. Interesting.
White
1999 Ferraton Père & Fils Ermitage Blanc Le Reverdy
Medium dark gold. Much tighter than the 2000. Honey and almonds. Excellent. No sign of oxidation. Needs time.
Rosé
2006 Ferraton Père & Fils Tavel Les Lauses
Tart strawberries and minerals. A touch green and acidic.
Red
2005 Ferraton Père & Fils Côtes du Rhône Samorëns
Black. Ripe licorice and blackberries on the nose. Stern and structured. A bit lean.
Red
2004 Ferraton Père & Fils Châteauneuf-du-Pape "Le Parvis"
Dark chocolate on the nose. Spicy red fruits and licorice; good minerality. Moderate ripeness; a touch green.
Red
2005 Ferraton Père & Fils Crozes-Hermitage La Matinière
Smoke, soy, and black fruits. Blackberries and fireplace ash. Lean and acidic.
Red
2004 Ferraton Père & Fils Crozes-Hermitage Le Grand Courtil
Great nose of ink and crushed blackberries. Ripe, tasty, fresh frut. Sappy and supple. Spice and minerality. Ripe tannins. Excellent.
Red
2005 Ferraton Père & Fils St. Joseph La Source
Perfumed, smoky nose. Ash/cigar. Rich crushed blackberries, smoke, dried flowers, and soy. Structured, inky, and raw. Promising but very closed.
Red
2000 Ferraton Père & Fils Hermitage Cuvée des Miaux
Black/violet color. Perfumed nose of smoke, graphite, iron, and minerals. Meaty. High-toned red and black cherries. Violets. A little high in acid for me.
Red
2001 Ferraton Père & Fils Hermitage Cuvée des Miaux
More closed than the 2000. Fantastic, perfumed nose of licorice, dark chocolate, and spice. Roasted meat, black pepper, and blackberries. Structured. Concentrated and ripe. Better balance than the 2000. Excellent and still very young.
Red
2000 Ferraton Père & Fils Ermitage Le Méal
Ripe and wide open on the nose. Crushed blackberries and anise. The midpalate picks up some game/animal notes, along with tobacco and forest floor. Minerals and baking spices; a redder fruit profile than the 2001 “Les Miaux”. Concentrated and supple. Excellent.
Red
1999 Ferraton Père & Fils Ermitage Les Díonníeres
Closed on the nose. Soy, tobacco, and concentrated blackberry fruit. Very closed, tight, and tart. After a few minutes, this loosened up a bit and picked up some violet aromas. Young.
Red
2006 Ferraton Père & Fils Hermitage Les Miaux
Barrel sample. Primal, pure cherry fruit. Seems to be well-structured and balanced. Very promising.
Flight 5 - Domaine Coursodon (9 notes)
We met with Jerome Coursodon, the young winemaker at this excellent, up-and-coming family domaine. I had never tasted any of Coursodon’s wines, and was eager to try them based on what I had been reading. We had a terrific driving tour of the domaine’s vineyards on the hills above St. Joseph, followed by a very comprehensive tasting. I was very impressed with the lineup and will be seeking these out for my cellar.
White
2006 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph Blanc Silice
100% Marsanne. Fat and ripe. Bananas. Full-bodied and silky. Lower acid profile. Not my style, but well made.
White
2006 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph Le Paradis Saint-Pierre Blanc
Tasted 3 barrel samples. The first was showing lots of oak on the nose, along with popcorn, white flowers, bananas and honey. Low acidity. The second, from a granite soil parcel, was more minerally and tasted like it had better acidity (although analytically it has less). The third was more aromatic and complex, showing white flowers and less ripeness. The finished wine should be good, although I wonder if there will be enough supporting acidity here.
Red
2006 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph Silice
Tasted 2 barrel samples. The first had a touch of barnyard on the nose, and well-concentrated smoky violets, soy, meat, and oak. The second was more aromatically open, showing grippy, smoky black fruits. This wine looks to have good concentration and structure and is promising at this stage.
Red
2006 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph L'Olivaie
Barrel sample; 80 year old vines. Dark chocolate, coffee, beautiful pure dark cherry fruit, and minerals. Ripe tannins. Elegant. Seems very promising.
Red
2006 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph Le Paradis Saint-Pierre
Barrel sample; the domaine’s oldest vines. Delicious, pure smoky black fruit. Concentrated coffee and baking spices. Tight and tannic. Delicious and very promising.
Red
2006 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph La Sensonne
Barrel sample. Showing lots of oak. Pure, fresh black cherry fruit. Beautiful purity, elegance, finesse, and concentration. Minerality galore. Delicious and very promising.
Red
2005 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph Silice
Perfumed nose. Smoky, sappy purple and black fruits. Good concentration. Excellent.
Red
2005 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph L'Olivaie
Higher-toned Burgundian-styled nose. Ripe, concentrated cherries and sappy red fruits. Forest floor. Excellent.
Red
1999 Domaine Coursodon St. Joseph La Sensonne
Delicious, concentrated smoky black fruits. Dark chocolate, olive tepenade, and savory sous bois. Great development of secondary flavors. Well-integrated oak. Can still age many more years. Excellent.
Flight 6 - Dinner @ La Cuisine, Valence (1 note)
We needed a change of pace from our hotel bistro, so we drove into the center of Valence for dinner. I was not especially impressed by this restaurant.
Red
2004 Domaine Courbis St. Joseph Les Royes
Deep purple/black golor. Ripe black fruits, soy, smoke, and blood. Iron/mineral. Good concentration and freshness. Excellent.