2012 St Péray, Cuvée Prestige, Domaine du Tunnel
Critics reviews
Proprietor Stephane Robert is knocking it out of the park from his tiny cellar located in Saint Peray. Producing up to three Cornas in any given vintage, he also releases four whites from Saint Peray and a serious Saint Joseph.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate #210, Dec 2013
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobsinson.com - Jan 2014
About this WINE
Domaine Du Tunnel
Located in a somewhat anonymous back-street of St Peray in Rhone, Domaine Du Tunnel is forging a reputation as one of the leading wine producers in newly rejuvenated villages of St Peray and Cornas, both famous through history and throughout France for making, respectively, excellent white and red wines.
Now, with the savoir faire of young vignerons such as Stéphane Robert, this reputation is set to achieve more international recognition.
Stephane began building this domain in 1994, when he was 24. He now works with 3ha in Cornas, 2.5 in Saint Joseph and 2 in Saint Peray, most of which he owns Aiming for wines which are characterised by fruit intensity rather than oak
Roussanne
Roussanne is one of the most important white grape varieties in the Rhône Valley. It is a particularly pernickety grape to cultivate being a notoriously low yielder as well as being highly susceptible to rot. It is difficult to ripen, and seemingly prone to oxidation at every opportunity. Roussanne's name comes from its russet-coloured skin and it produces richly aromatic wines, often with fruit characteristics of lime and blossom.
In the northern Rhône it is typically blended with Marsanne to produce the white wines of Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph, and St-Péray. Generally Marsanne is the dominant partner and it lends colour, body and weight to the blend, as well as richly scented fruit, while Roussanne contributes bouquet, delicacy and finesse.
It is grown less extensively in the southern Rhône although it is one of the permitted varieties in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. There are plantings of Roussanne in the Languedoc and Rousillon and in the last decade the grape have been cultivated with particular success in California, where it is produced both as a single varietal and as a component of Rhône-style blends.
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Description
Our 2012 Rhône Vintage Recommendation: Favourite St Peray
Dominated by Marsanne from old vines, this has a strikingly clean, buttery nose with a slightly mealy tone. The oak is very nicely integrated and the finish is long and pure. While keeping its freshness, this is a major step up in density and richness from a lot of comparably priced white Rhône wines and you’d be hard-pushed to find better value.
Guy Davies, Wine Team
This is deep, ripe and full-bodied fruit on the nose from the old-vine Marsanne, but has a zip of freshness courtesy of the 20 percent Roussanne in the blend. Full-bodied, rich and concise on the palate, this has great depth, concentration and impressive length. It is a great wine for the money.
Chris Pollington, Private Account Manager
The Prestige is a bend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, all of which has been matured in barrique, 20% of which is new. Exotic Roussanne imprimaturs of pear and nectarine find a natural affinity with the viscosity of the Marsanne which lends a rich citric honied twist to the finish.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer
Stéphane Robert is pithy when describing the 2012 vintage; ‘tout est bon....pas de soucis’. It’s hard to argue with such an analysis, especially when tasting his wines. The Roberts have built a wonderful chalet-like house with panoramic views of Cornas and beyond that Valance. It is close to the ruins of the eponymous railway tunnel, where they plan to build some kind of entertainment suite, although how they plan to do this is not quite clear. Their winery remains in the heart of St Peray and their wines are among the finest in the region.
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