The Rhone Valley - North & South
Carol Cunningham, On the Grapevine
1.
Rose d'Une Nuit, Version Stephane Montez, VdP des Collines Rhodanniens, 2004
Very light in colour and with
a most unexpected nose. Pleasant, light and missing the sometimes
'synthetic' nose of the Grenache based rosés. A much more grown-up wine;
worth a try even at €12. It's 100% Syrah, from the Cote Rotie area.
12.5%
€12
2. Domaine de la Janesse
Viognier, VdP de la Principaute d'Orange, 2004
Light colour, not much nose;
what there is is floral. A real mouthful of quite elegant and fruity
wine, with a hint of leather, some sweetness and a burn at the end,
possibly from the 13.5% alc. Said to be a traditional winery but new oak
etc. points to some modern influences.
€17
3. Les Vins de Vienne, AC
Condrieu, 2003
Quite deep colour. Nose
floral, candied citrus. Spicy, smoky, rich, ripe, warm. Cask
fermented Viognier, controlled fermentation and cask maturation; 25% new
oak. Wouldn't pay €40 for it, though.
€40
4.
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone, 2002
Light but rich red. Nice
nose. Quite young. A lot of oak but balanced by good fruit. Not at
all like the normal Guigal Cotes du Rhone. Said to be 90% Syrah -
the Grenache was bad in 2002. Competent wine in a bad year but no big
deal.
€13
5. Little James' Basket
Press, Vin de Table, NV
Deep red. A hint jammy, some
rubber. Lots of crunchy bits and great fruit. Fruit gums and cherries.
Very drinkable and would go well with food - a nice entrecôte grillé
perhaps. Good burn well matched by fruit. Great fun. 100% Grenache
and 13.5% alc. Winemaker is Louis Barruol; see Gigondas and Cote-Rotie
below.
€12
6. Gigondas - Chateau de
Saint Cosme, 2003
Nice dark, clean red.
Ripe, big burn (14.x%) Lots of juicy fruit and ripe tannins.
grenache 60%, Syrah 25%; Cinsault 15%. There was a drought in 2003.
Bit too dear.
€24
7. Vacqueyras, Domaine
le Sang des Cailloux, Cuvee Doucinella, 2002
Dark, black cherry. Beautiful
nose. Doesn't quite follow through on thee palate. Quite
juicy, lots of tannin, a bit watery on first taste, but gets better as it
warms: earth, leather and cherries.. A good finish. An old
style Domaine run by Serge Ferigoule (Doucinella is one of the daughters),
the name translates as "blood from stones", very appropriate for a wine
from the garrigue. I'm told that Vacqueyras means "stony valley"
too.
Grenache 70%, Syrah 20%, Cinsault and Mourvedre 5% each.
€23
8. Crozes Hermitage,
Yann Chave, 2003
No relation to my favourite
maker of white Hermitage, this guy knows how to make wine. Nose of
not-quite-ripe berry fruit; more like a green fruit pastille as it warmed
up. Big hit of ripe fruit on the palate, with crunchy tannins and a good
burn (13.5%) This is 100% Syrah from the North Rhone.
€20
9.
Cote Rotie, Saint Cosme, 2002
Huge, pungent, toasty,
fruity, burnt rubber - and that's just the nose. Big fruit,not too 'warm
country', a bit of pucker. Very complex. A tiny hint of something
off at the front spoiled it for me, otherwise a very good wine. I
expect better at the price, but it's very complex, very nice. I
can't rate it; it's certainly not perfect. Very interesting.
€52
10.
Cote Rotie, Saint Cosme, 2002
Huge, pungent, toasty,
fruity, burnt rubber - and that's just the nose. Big fruit,not too 'warm
country', a bit of pucker. Very complex. Very dry finish. A
tiny hint of something off at the front spoiled it for me, otherwise a
very good wine. I expect better at the price, but it's very complex,
very nice. I can't rate it; it's certainly not perfect. Very
interesting. 2002 was a terrible year, though. Parker raves
about the 2003. 7,500 bottles, six parcels. Someone said it's
almost like a new world Shiraz.
€52