RHÔNE VALLEY

This geologically diverse region in France produces some extraordinary wines.    The amazing point is that you can find stellar, rare and costly wines in this area, but there are many little gems to be had, also.  We're amused that many California winemakers put price tags on their wines which exceed those found on some of the wines which are viewed as "the standards. "

Wines from the Rhône used to be viewed as price-worthy alternatives to Bordeaux and Burgundy when those markets spiraled to dizzying levels.  This situation has changed in the past decade as superstar Rhône Valley wines now achieve prices as high as top Bordeaux and Burgundy. 

The main grape varieties here are the Grenache and Syrah for red wines, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne for whites. 

NORTHERN RHÔNES
I've listed the appellations and the grape varieties allowed for each.  They're listed north to south.  While a major player in southern Rhônes, Grenache is not normally found in the north.

The Southern Rhône is quite variable, the second largest regional appellation after Bordeaux.  The most broad appellation here is "Côtes du Rhône" and you'll find it on some wines ranging from very good to remarkably average.  There are some 77 or so little "burgs" which come under the appellation of "Côtes du Rhône Villages".  Of those, some 16 can actually put their village name on the label.   We've recently found good wines of the Costieres-de-Nimes, Coteaux-du-Tricastin and Côtes-du-Ventoux designations.   The most prestigious southern Rhone appellations are the world-famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape, followed by Gigondas and then Lirac and Vacqueyras.  Tavel is a famous and, usually, expensive rose wine.  

Most of the southern Rhône reds are Grenache-based wines.  Quality and character are variable, depending upon the location of the vineyard, soil type, vintage and vigneron.  

There are 13 different varieties allowed in producing wines such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape.   Grenache Noir, Syrah and Mourvèdre are the primary varieties, augmented with Picpoul (which comes in 3 "flavors": noir, blanc or gris), Counoise, Cinsault, Clairette, Terret Noir, Vaccarese, Roussanne, Bourboulenc and Piccardin.   You might also find a herd of others in the south, including Carignan, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Marsanne, Viognier, Camarese, Pascal Blanc, Grenache Gris, Clairette Rose and something called Calitor. 
Winemaking in this region varies from rustic to ultra-modern.  While we've seen cellars here with 60-gallon capacity oak barrels, the percentage of wines with significant amounts of new oak is rather small.  Most winemakers attempt to showcase their fruit rather than the work of a barrel-builder.

Recent vintages have been reasonably good.  There is not a shortage of good Rhône wines at the present time.  

Some Rhône Selections:

E. GUIGAL

We've long admired the wines of Guigal, first visiting the winery back in the early 1980s.  We stopped in again recently and, despite our poor timing (the harvest was just winding down), both Marcel Guigal and his son were extremely hospitable.  

Guigal owns about 12 hectares of vines and so they operate as "negociants", too, buying fruit, juice and wine.  The remarkable thing is the high level of quality to be found up and down the line-up.  Their basic "Côtes du Rhône" is a terrific red wine (and we have it as a "lost leader" for just $13.49 a bottle!). The 2005 vintage puts to shame a good many California Zinfandels at twice the price!

The company has grown considerably over the past decade, or so, thanks to the high standards of the Guigal family.  It's not by accident these wines have gained a wide audience.   

Of course, Côte-Rôtie here is the specialty, Guigal owning several prime parcels.   These are labeled "La Landonne", "La Mouline" and "La Turque" and fetch amazingly high prices.   Some potential buyers view these as commodities, not as wine.  Prices, as a result, have become astronomical.

Now a large producer of Condrieu, Guigal's special bottling is tabbed "La Doriane" and has been exceptional Viognier.  La Doriane is matured in wood, so it's got the peach-like notes of Viognier, plus the sweet vanillin notes of the new oak barrels.

Photo:  A Zander filet (a type of perch) served on a bed of vegetable confetti seasoned with curry.  This was a sensational plate prepared by Norbert & Gaby.

Guigal has introduced a new Côte-Rôtie called Château d'Ampuis.   We were impressed by the fruit, spice and sweet oak of the 1995, the inaugural vintage.  The prices have floated upwards and we can order their current vintages for you.

The local importer recently landed some bottle of Guigal's 1997 Côte-Rôtie and we bought one, curious to see how this has matured.  Well, in April of 2008 the wine is still deep and youthful in color.  It's aromas are young, too and the wine is quite full and vigorous on the palate.  I would not have guessed it to be a ten+ year old wine from such a warm vintage.  I suspect it may cellar nicely for another decade.  Maybe more.

Currently available:  2005 Côtes du Rhône Rouge  Sale $13.49 (half bottles are $7.99)
1998 Hermitage $48.99
1985 Hermitage $129.99
2000 Côte-Rôtie $49.99
1997 Côte-Rôtie $79.99
2004 Condrieu "La Doriane" $99.99
2005 Condrieu $49.99 (750ml)   $22.99 (375ml)







DOMAINE SAINT-AMANT

The Wallut family was looking for a vacation residence and they found a nice little place in the Rhône. 

They're located way up in the hills, the nearest town being Suzette.  Beaumes de Venise is the appellation for the Côtes-du-Rhône wines here.  The soils are much like those in Gigondas, 

Jacques Wallut is an older gentleman who's a wine fancier.  He made some money working in the computer industry and now he's got a nice little wine cellar and vineyards well off the beaten path in the Southern Rhône Valley.  The property had some 50 to 80 year old Grenache vines and some 30 to 40 year old Syrah.  But Wallut planted Viognier, the first vines being put into the ground in 1992.    There's a tiny bit of Roussanne planted as well.

 

The Saint Amant name comes from a large mountain peak that's above their vineyards.  Wallut's first vintage was 1995 and he made some reds.  But it's a particular bottling of a special cuvée that's predominantly Viognier as well as an unusually serious Côtes du Rhône that are of interest.

Dubbed "Tabardonne," the wine is 95% Viognier.  The grapes are whole cluster pressed and the juice is put into stainless steel tanks for two or three days so it clarifies just a little bit.  Then it is racked into wood, something like one-quarter to one-third of the oak barrels being brand new.  Allier oak, they think.  The wine has a fantastic aroma of ripe peach fruit and just a touch of vanillin from the wood.  

A red Côtes du Rhône is surprisingly good.  It cannot be labeled as a red "Beaumes de Venise" (typically more costly than simple Côtes du Rhône because it doesn't have the minimum of 50% Grenache for that special designation.

The wine is 40% Grenache and 60% Syrah and really does more resemble good Northern Rhône wine than your typical simple Southern Rhône.  We love the briary, spicy, herbal, olive-like, smoky, meaty notes which we look for in (far more expensive) Syrahs from farther north.  

Wallut's wine comes from 25-35 year old Grenache vines and 10-20 year old Syrah.   Don't miss this!

Currently in stock:  DOMAINE SAINT-AMANT "BEAUMES DE VENISE"  Tabardonne (Viognier/Roussanne) $16.99

DOMAINE SAINT-AMANT CÔTES du RHÔNE Rouge "Las Clapas" 2003 Sold Out

DOMAINE CLUSEL-ROCH

A rather tiny property, this firm is located in Ampuis and produces a few bottles of Condrieu and a few more of Côte-Rôtie.  

Run by Gilbert Clusel and Brigitte Roch, they have something like 3 hectares of Syrah vineyards and a half of a hectare of Viognier.  The Côte-Rôtie sees time in new wood and seasoned cooperage to achieve a balance and highlight the spicy, bacony Syrah fruit.  

If you taste a really young bottling, the wine "merely" shows dark fruits...it takes a few years of aging in the bottle for the wine to develop and blossom.  


Brigitte opened a couple of bottles of their 1999  Côte-Rôtie wines for us in 2008.  These were, frankly, superb.  Best wines of my French visit, in fact.

 

 

I tasted their 2002 vintage and, despite it being a tad light, the wine was thoroughly delicious!  We currently have the 2003 in stock.  This is a nicely done wine and it's drinkable now, if you like.  I suspect it will continue to develop for a few more years and maintain on a plateau through 2015, or so.  I don't find it to show as much wood as did earlier vintages.  

 

They make an even tinier amount of Viognier from the Condrieu appellation.  This is a really fine example of Viognier and it sees a bit of wood.  The wine is peachy, dry and has a mild woodsy note.

Currently in stock:  2003 Côte-Rôtie  $49.99
2005 Condrieu  List $60  SALE $49.99

JEAN-MICHEL GÉRIN

Another relatively small producer in the northern Rhône town of Ampuis, the domaine was founded a decade ago.  Several bottlings of Côte-Rôtie are made.  We have his Côte-Rôtie "Champin le Seigneur," a blend of several vineyards.  

Gérin has a patch of old vines on the Côte Brune called "Les Grandes Places."   He, along with Clusel-Roch, offers the "deluxe" bottling of Côte-Rotie with this designation.  The vines are, for the most part, more than 80 years old.   This wine goes into brand new barrels and is unfiltered.  

 

Gerin's Condrieu has been rather flashy the past few vintages.  The wine is rich and intense, certainly having an elevated level of alcohol.  It also seems to have a hint of oak to frame the rich, apricot/peach character of the Viognier. 

Currently in stock: Out of stock presently.  We can special order Gerin's current releases for you.





DOMAINE ALAIN GRAILLOT

Moving from Paris to the northern Rhône in the mid-1980s, Graillot has become the leading producer of Crozes-Hermitage wines.  We found a vintage or two a few years ago to be a bit disappointing.  "Not to our taste," might be another polite way of saying the wines had a rather leathery character.  We were advised to "let the wine breathe for a few hours, it might blow off."  Uh huh.

Well, more recently the wines HAVE been good.  Today Graillot's wines are regarded as a bit of a benchmark for the appellation, though his neighbor (and buddy) Laurence Combier also makes remarkably good wines.

Graillot makes a special bottling, selecting his favorite barrels for this wine.  It is labeled "La Guiraude".   We periodically have this in stock...not presently, though.

Currently available:  2004 Crozes-Hermitage $24.99
2005 Crozes-Hermitage $26.99







PAUL JABOULET AINE

This winery cranks out more than 2 million bottles of wine annually!    The Jaboulet family lost the 'recipe' and finally sold the winery to someone more interested in producing good quality wines.  

We had read some sad reviews of Jaboulet wines which mirrored our tasting experience.  I bought some bottles of 2005s and these show a marked improvement in quality.

 

The crown jewel is their "La Chapelle" bottling of Hermitage, a rare and expensive bottling which is named after a chapel at the top of the hill.  The wine is reportedly from two parcels of vines owned by Jaboulet.  

We trekked up to the "chapel" one winter's night in 2003 and nearly froze to death.  But we did drink a nice bottle of 1999 La Chapelle there.

 

 

The wine spends around a year in oak, not nearly as long as Guigal ages his super-cuvees (3 years!) and it takes a long time to really evolve and blossom in the bottle.  We've periodically found some of Jaboulet's other wines to have quality matching the price tags. 

The 2005 La Chapelle is a very fine, but very young wine.  I would not suggest this wine as something to be opened in the next year or two.  If you don't mind spending two-hundred bucks for a wine to open in 2015 to, say, 2020, then go ahead.  If you're buying the 2005 to drink now, you're wasting your money.

Jaboulet is  always promoting its basic Côtes du Rhône, Parallele 45, but we're not fans of the raisiny, over-ripe, jammy fruit this wine seems to display.

We have access to their full range of wines, so if you are looking for something particular, please let us know.  We recently included a Saint-Joseph and a Crozes-Hermitage in a blind-tasting of 2005s...I liked them both and was pleasantly surprised the wines showed as nicely as they did.

Currently available:   2005 Hermitage "La Chapelle"   SALE $199.99

More Rhône Selections

Wine Tasting Today

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Last modified: April 22, 2008