Rhône
Wine has been produced in the Rhône Valley for over 500 years, with some of its steeply-terraced vineyards amongst the oldest in France. Syrah rules over the south with a mix of Mediterranean grapes, while in the north the two stars are Hermitage – grown on a granite hillside above the town of Tain and best put to the back of the cellar for a decade – and Côte-Rôtie, a star appellation made famous by Guigal's single-vineyard wines.
Wine has been produced in the Rhône Valley for over 500 years, with some of its vineyards being amongst the oldest in France. Syrah rules over the south with a mix of Mediterranean grapes, while in the north, the two stars are Hermitage – grown on an imposing granite hillside above the town of Tain and best put away in the back of the cellar for a decade – and Côte-Rôtie, a star appellation made famous by Guigal's single-vineyard wines, yet also home to dozens of fine producers as yet less well known. The sheer hillsides overlooking the river have to be terraced to make production possible.
St Joseph and Cornas also provide wines of weight and worth, but the best source for good value is Crozes-Hermitage, a satellite appellation which has come alive in the last few years with the arrival of young blood.
The river valley widens out south of Valence into Côtes du Rhône country on the windy alluvial plains and the lower slopes of the hills. It is a most imposing sight during the cold, clear, blue skies of Mistral conditions. The best of the wine villages of the Côtes du Rhône have been promoted to their own appellations - Vinsobres, Vacqueyras - close in quality to the better known Gigondas.
The king of the southern Rhône is Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here the galets roulés, rounded rocks from the ancient river bed, provide the context for gloriously rich red wines that are redolent of the heat and herbs of the south, and enhanced by the complexity which comes from blending several grape varieties. Thirteen are permitted in all, but Grenache usually dominates, along with Syrah and Mourvèdre in support. A fine vintage needs eight to 10 years cellaring for best results.
If your taste runs to fuller, richer, relatively exotic white wines, then perhaps a white Hermitage or Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the Rhône Valley would suit better, or else a marvellously perfumed, heady Condrieu - headquarters of the Viognier grape.
Prices:
Bottle
£11.45
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1,140cs
Bottle
£15.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle
£15.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 13cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£15.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 24cs
fruit sourced from ten parcels and dominated by the
75 percent of tank-aged Grenache, with Syrah and
Mourvèdre providing impressive support. Herbs,
cassis and a hint of eucalypt provide the backdrop
and the ensemble is enrobed and ennobled by ripe yet
finely poised tannins. Drink 2019-2021.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 17cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
aniseed and hints – appropriately enough – of the
garrigue. The wine is made up of 70 percent Grenache
and 30 percent Syrah, the age of the Grenache
being at least 60-years-old. Christine describes the
fermentation process in terms of an infusion delicacy
being key and the temperature kept no higher than
28 degrees. The resulting style she describes as une
bonne amertune, the apparently bittersweet oxymoron
explained most lucidly by the wine itself. Drink
2019-2023.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£18.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 33cs
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer
The Perrins are far from equivocal in outlining their aspirations in the Southern Rhône; they wish to match the undisputed primacy of their Beaucastel estate with hegemony of classic vineyards to demonstrate the best characteristics of the best villages: Voltaire without Pangloss. Nurturing and guiding as appropriate, they have rapidly built up an enviable portfolio which has gone virtually all the way to the realisation of this ambition. Their attention has been focused especially on the villages of Vinsobres and Gigondas, both of which share altitude and aspect to suit the subtly changing climate in the region.
Bottle
£19.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Magnum 6 x 150cl 1cs
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer
Domaine Chaume-Arnaud is owned and run by Valérie and Philippe Chaume-Arnaud, who own 13.5 hectares situated in and around Vinsobres. Their reds are made up principally of Grenache (60 percent), with Syrah (20 percent), some ancient Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre (10 percent), plus Viognier and Marsanne (10 percent). Yields are kept low, all soil treatments are organic and harvesting is done solely by hand. Most of the vines average 30 years in age, going up to 65 for the Carignan in the Vinsobres cuvée. Philippe looks after the vines while Valérie works the cellar, all under the watchful eye of her parents – her mother's method of tracking Philippe down is to drive literally into a vineyard and stand and scream at the top of her voice until he appears.
Bottle
£19.50
dark fruit and spice underwritten by a whiff of
something savoury, jambon cru maybe, courtesy no
doubt of the Mourvèdre. Figs and white chocolate
join more usual descriptors such as myrtle, plum and
griotte on the palate. The blend in 2106 is 60 percent
Grenache, 20 percent Syrah, 10 percent Cinsault and
10 percent Mourvèdre. Drink 2019-2022.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£19.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 34cs
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer
L’Oratoire St Martin is run with great skill by brothers François and Frédéric Alary, both leading players in the movement to get Cairanne promoted to stand-alone Cru status, a movement which has recently been successful. The Alary family can trace its origins to the same decade as Berry Bros. & Rudd (1698 for us, 1692 for them) and now farms over 28 hectares, in the middle of which there was once, apparently, an oratory of some description. Low-yielding old vines are farmed biodynamically and the wines are vinified first in open-top fermenters and then in large foudres of 3,400 litres. The Alary brothers have risen to the challenges imposed by their de facto status as the leading producers in the recently created stand-alone Cairanne Cru. Nowhere is this more evident than in the supreme quality of their 2015 wines.
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 5cs
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 14cs
Simon Field MW-Wine Buyer
Domaine Chaume-Arnaud is owned and run by Valérie and Philippe Chaume-Arnaud, who own 13.5 hectares situated in and around Vinsobres. Their reds are made up principally of Grenache (60 percent), with Syrah (20 percent), some ancient Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre (10 percent), plus Viognier and Marsanne (10 percent). Yields are kept low, all soil treatments are organic and harvesting is done solely by hand. Most of the vines average 30 years in age, going up to 65 for the Carignan in the Vinsobres cuvée. Philippe looks after the vines while Valérie works the cellar, all under the watchful eye of her parents – her mother's method of tracking Philippe down is to drive literally into a vineyard and stand and scream at the top of her voice until he appears.
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 4cs
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer
The forebears of sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have been making superb wines since 1344 it seems, maybe modifying their techniques a little along the way, but not too much. Biodynamic in all but the letter, they are based close to Beaucastel, but their plots, albeit more modest in total surface area, are more widely spaced over the appellation, with the most significant holdings in the areas around Courthézon and on the central Crau plateau. Low yields are key to the exceptional quality of the wines.
Bottle
£21.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 5cs
The older vines fared a little better in the somewhat complicated conditions of 2014, and those with a relatively more northerly location, benefiting from a little more granite in the soil maybe, have provided the bedrock of this cuvée in 2014. The wine is aromatic, floral and generous, with a silky come-hither appeal and a gentle, dignified finish. Drink now to 2018.
Bottle
£21.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
of the different vineyards are matured differently; in
2016, 50 percent was in new or one-year-old barrel,
30 percent in tronconique and the balance in older
barrique. The assemblage has an attractive nose
dominated by tapenade, wood-smoke and blackberry
fruit; on the palate there are additional notes of
pepper and spice. The finish is finely etched and
winsome. Drink 2019-2022.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£22.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 40cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Pierre’s first wine, way back when, on leaving Vidal-Fleury, was St Joseph from this sandy granitic plot just to the south of Chavanay, which now covers five hectares. Berry Bros. & Rudd have followed this one pretty much from the beginning, 30 odd years ago. With both vines and vigneron gaining maturity, the wine is impressively complex, wearing its 40 percent new oak with considerable poise and boasting plenty of attractive ripe fruit, with an intriguingly complex finish – spicy, edgy and yet beautifully clean. Drink 2018-2024.
Simon Fields MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£24.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£24.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£24.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 51cs
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£24.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 3cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 6cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
The Medieval village of Malleval, perched high above the serpentine Rhône, provides a suitably lofty homestead for Pierre Gaillard, one of the most influential and highlyrespected vignerons in the valley. With his two daughters, son and wife all part of the business, this is clearly a family affair, its influence now keenly felt in Seyssuel just to the north, not to mention Collioure and Faugères in the Languedoc, where some excellent wines have broadened an already impressive portfolio. The smaller production 2013 Saint Joseph Clos de Cuminaille should be a step up over the traditional cuvee. It has rock-solid notes of black raspberry, crushed rocks, wild herbs and olive, as well as good underlying minerality. Medium-bodied, balanced, with good purity and an elegant feel, it should have 7-8 years of longevity, possibly more.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#216 Dec 2014
Bottle
£25.75
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer
L’Oratoire St Martin is run with great skill by brothers François and Frédéric Alary, both leading players in the movement to get Cairanne promoted to stand-alone Cru status, a movement which has recently been successful. The Alary family can trace its origins to the same decade as Berry Bros. & Rudd (1698 for us, 1692 for them) and now farms over 28 hectares, in the middle of which there was once, apparently, an oratory of some description. Low-yielding old vines are farmed biodynamically and the wines are vinified first in open-top fermenters and then in large foudres of 3,400 litres. The Alary brothers have risen to the challenges imposed by their de facto status as the leading producers in the recently created stand-alone Cairanne Cru. Nowhere is this more evident than in the supreme quality of their 2015 wines.
Bottle
£26.45
Bottle 6 x 75cl 42cs
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer
Domaine Chaume-Arnaud is owned and run by Valérie and Philippe Chaume-Arnaud, who own 13.5 hectares situated in and around Vinsobres. Their reds are made up principally of Grenache (60 percent), with Syrah (20 percent), some ancient Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre (10 percent), plus Viognier and Marsanne (10 percent). Yields are kept low, all soil treatments are organic and harvesting is done solely by hand. Most of the vines average 30 years in age, going up to 65 for the Carignan in the Vinsobres cuvée. Philippe looks after the vines while Valérie works the cellar, all under the watchful eye of her parents – her mother's method of tracking Philippe down is to drive literally into a vineyard and stand and scream at the top of her voice until he appears.
Bottle
£26.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
leaving the house of Vidal Fleury, Cuminaille is now
one of the greatest wines in St Joseph, an eloquent
expression of northern Syrah and a worthy leitmotif
for all the progress made in this diverse and once
rather misunderstood appellation. Pierre destems
completely and uses a system of pigeage to achieve
gentle extraction from the mature vines. Aromatic
integrity, softly persuasive peppery tannins and a
linearity which marks out this vintage are all expertly
captured in this seminal example. Drink 2019-2024.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£26.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 4cs
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
Irrepressibly cheerful as ever, François Villard shrugs at the 30 to 40 percent drop in yields in 2013, attributing the phenomenon to nature’s way of evening things out, a truism with which it is hard to argue. The slightly higher than normal levels of malic acid he sees as more relevant in terms of potential quality; once the malolactic fermentations were completed however, this problem redressed itself and wines of equilibrium and charm resulted. All things balance out in the end, it seems.
Bottle
£28.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Drink 2017-2021.
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 4cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 18cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£29.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
Bottle
£30.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 30cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 1cs
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Bottle
£30.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 34cs
Bottle 12 x 75cl 1cs
Fiona Hayes - Wine Buyer