2010 Rhone

2010 marks a spectacular return to form for this excellent Domaine which is based in St Peray and which has been no stranger to BBR over the years. . From the more traditional end of the spectrum, which in terms of Cornas means wines of incalculable gravitas, the Voge wines are now vinified by Chapoutier alumnus, Albert Mazoyers, and have never been better...

Our visit to Yves this year, despite its first-after-lunch graveyard slot, was one of the best of them all. Perhaps it was a fruit day! The wines were singing and Yves was composed and confident, clearly very happy with the vintage. For him the long ripening season of 2010, with its significant diurnal temperature variations, was the key to quality. The vigneron’s Grand Master chess skills were fully exercised in the decision of when to harvest… a tricky decision of course, each plot being different, but now, finally I understand the purpose of each of the many varied cuvées in the range and there appears to be some stability and a real sense of purpose in the winemaking….and not too much new oak now…..The enfant terrible has really come of age…

Our first visit of our Southern Rhône week, and a most agreeable one, despite the early hour, Charbonnière continues to excel and, forgive the tautology, to develop as a classic traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The transition from père Michel to daughters Véronique and Caroline has been seamless and the quality gets better and better. Véronique compares 2010 with 2005 and 2000; for her 2009 was more like 2007, with a little more ‘residual’ sugar, courtesy of the Grenache.

Vincent Avril, in a typically fascinating tasting, had prepared four pre-assemblages, of which one was set to be closest to the final blend. The differences between the four, with their varying degree of differing grapes, from differing sites, was extremely instructive. All were excellent but the final foudre seemed to be richer, longer and more complete. A very valuable lesson in the blender’s art, and for Vincent, all the components are vital, hence his insistence, probably in defiance of huge commercial reward, to resist the temptation of creating a super or deluxe cuvée. Such integrity is to be celebrated, most appropriately with a glass of Clos des Papes in one’s hand!

The brothers Pacsal and Vicent Maurel, with a little help from the larger-than-life and near-ubiquitous consultant Philippe Cambie, continue to work wonders with this famous old Domaine, which gets its first BBR listing this year. The property is similar in size to Beaucastel and also has some spectacular parcels of old vines, its centurion-holders mainly situated on the Crau plateau. The winemaking here is traditional, yet the wines themselves seem to marry tradition and modernity with effortless aplomb.

The brothers Pacsal and Vicent Maurel, with a little help from the larger-than-life and near-ubiquitous consultant Philippe Cambie, continue to work wonders with this famous old Domaine, which gets its first BBR listing this year. The property is similar in size to Beaucastel and also has some spectacular parcels of old vines, its centurion-holders mainly situated on the Crau plateau. The winemaking here is traditional, yet the wines themselves seem to marry tradition and modernity with effortless aplomb.

The brothers Pacsal and Vicent Maurel, with a little help from the larger-than-life and near-ubiquitous consultant Philippe Cambie, continue to work wonders with this famous old Domaine, which gets its first BBR listing this year. The property is similar in size to Beaucastel and also has some spectacular parcels of old vines, its centurion-holders mainly situated on the Crau plateau. The winemaking here is traditional, yet the wines themselves seem to marry tradition and modernity with effortless aplomb.

Brother and sister team of Christophe and Isabelle Sabon continue to work wonders at Janasse, a property founded in 1973 and which farms 80 hectares of Côtes-du-Rhône and Châteauneuf –du-Pape, the latter of which is all located in the north-east of the appellation, in the commune of Courthézon to be precise. Concrete tanks are used for the Grenache and oak for the Syrah and Mourvèdre; in other words, everything is fairly traditional; it is the quality of the raw materials which is so impressive and for that reason alone, leaving aside the clear skill and vision of the Sabons, that BBR are delighted to take on these excellent 2010s for their first full listing.

Mark Sorrel is a thoughtful and talented vigneron, initially quite reserved, like his wines, but who needs to say much when one owns some of the finest holdings on the hill of Hermitage? . Despite having one foot firmly planted in the traditionalist camp, when it comes to such things as destemming and ageing, he invariably manages to produce wines of great elegance and poise. He compares 2010 with 1978 and 1961. And who needs to say more than that?

The brothers Pacsal and Vicent Maurel, with a little help from the larger-than-life and near-ubiquitous consultant Philippe Cambie, continue to work wonders with this famous old Domaine, which gets its first BBR listing this year. The property is similar in size to Beaucastel and also has some spectacular parcels of old vines, its centurion-holders mainly situated on the Crau plateau. The winemaking here is traditional, yet the wines themselves seem to marry tradition and modernity with effortless aplomb.

Few developments have been as telling or as significant as the progress made by the Perrins in the villages outside of their Chteauneuf-du-Pape fortress. Their aspiration has been clear and it has been honourable; through ownership, partnership and, where appropriate, acquisition, they wish to build a portfolio which shows the very best in the very best of the terroirs which these villages have to offer and thereby to promote both the Perrin philosophy, which is focused on quality and quality only, and in the process, to raise the profile of the region as a whole. The progress made to date has been most impressive! The artists formerly known as Perrin Pre et Fils now prefer the title of La Famille Perrin

A brilliant vintage for Côte-Rôtie, this is René’s favourite vintage of the past 20 years. Long maceration and low temperatures preserve the crystalline focus, yet the ripeness of the fruit gives a balance of opulent richness that makes this wine approachable in youth. There is finesse with black fruit precision with a touch of wet stone minerality, floral jasmine notes and herbs de provenance on the finish. Personally, I feel this wine as it represents the best of the Côte-Rôtie at a reasonable price. Though approachable now, this has the structure to age happily for a decade or more and will continue to give and give. If you have a case of this, I would open a bottle a year and track its progress.
Fine Wine Team

M Rostaing, or RR as we affectionately call him, is something of an enigma, a man giving all semblance of being a classicist, yet whose winemaking philosophy, with its use of rotary fermenters and pragmatic approach to destemming, is far from the old-school. His vocabulary, however, is pleasingly old-fashioned; he likes the 2010 vintage, as there is ‘une belle rigueur’, describing it as ‘Jansenist’ in temperament. The classicism now extends to the names of the wines; the wine formerly known as ‘Cuvée Classique’ has been renamed Ampodium, the Roman name for the town of Ampuis, and the location of his winery.

M Rostaing, or RR as we affectionately call him, is something of an enigma, a man giving all semblance of being a classicist, yet whose winemaking philosophy, with its use of rotary fermenters and pragmatic approach to destemming, is far from the old-school. His vocabulary, however, is pleasingly old-fashioned; he likes the 2010 vintage, as there is ‘une belle rigueur’, describing it as ‘Jansenist’ in temperament. The classicism now extends to the names of the wines; the wine formerly known as ‘Cuvée Classique’ has been renamed Ampodium, the Roman name for the town of Ampuis, and the location of his winery.

M Rostaing, or RR as we affectionately call him, is something of an enigma, a man giving all semblance of being a classicist, yet whose winemaking philosophy, with its use of rotary fermenters and pragmatic approach to destemming, is far from the old-school. His vocabulary, however, is pleasingly old-fashioned; he likes the 2010 vintage, as there is ‘une belle rigueur’, describing it as ‘Jansenist’ in temperament. The classicism now extends to the names of the wines; the wine formerly known as ‘Cuvée Classique’ has been renamed Ampodium, the Roman name for the town of Ampuis, and the location of his winery.

One must always expect the unexpected chez Pegau. This time we were greeted by a disembodied voice, seemingly from a distant echo chamber. It turned out that Laurence was cleaning out a foudre, from the inside, and had overlooked our arrival time. This hands-on approach is typical of an extraordinarily energetic vigneronne, who has risen to the very top by a winning and somewhat paradoxical combination of dogged determination and sheer hard work, flavoured with a dose of humility. Pegau is now seen as the very best of the ‘traditional’ Châteauneuf wines, most eloquently illustrated by the 2010s.

The Delorme brothers have, since 1986, forged an enviable reputation. They are based to the south-east in the village of Tavel, celebrated for its rosé wines, but they also own 4 hectares of vines on the Crau plateau of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a very well-positioned parcel in Lirac. Christophe is adamant that 2010 is their best ever vintage; the key to its quality is the juxtaposition of trademark concentration and very fine tannins, much finer, he maintains than in 2007 or 2009, both highly successful years of course. Mordorée are aiming for full organic certification in 2013, aided in no small measure by the new member of the team…Sarko the horse…(at least I think that this is the name they gave!)

Beaucastel occupies an almost homogenous 100 hectare plot in the north-east zone of the appellation, the zone which is perhaps the most resistant to rapid climate change as it is the most exposed to the Mistral and has a great number of the famous pudding stones, with their capacity to regulate excess temperature over the course of a day and a night. The reputation of the property continues to climb, its stewardship now secure in the hands of the next generation of Perrins. One of whom, the affable yet very industrious Marc, maintains that he has not seen a vintage better than 2010. For him the nearest comparisons are 1978 and 1962, the latter of which he will not have encountered personally, merely though the enviable library stock held at the property.

Beaucastel occupies an almost homogenous 100 hectare plot in the north-east zone of the appellation, the zone which is perhaps the most resistant to rapid climate change as it is the most exposed to the Mistral and has a great number of the famous pudding stones, with their capacity to regulate excess temperature over the course of a day and a night.

The reputation of the property continues to climb, its stewardship now secure in the hands of the next generation of Perrins. One of whom, the affable yet very industrious Marc, maintains that he has not seen a vintage better than 2010. For him the nearest comparisons are 1978 and 1962, the latter of which he will not have encountered personally, merely though the enviable library stock held at the property.

La Nerthe is one of the few Rhône properties where the grandeur of the wines is perfectly captured by the property itself. Our Fine Wine team love to visit because everything, the elegance of the wines included, makes them think that they are in Bordeaux. Christian Voeux is particularly pleased with the 2010 vintage which, he advises, shares the rigour and precision of the 2005 and the generous fruit character of the 2007. As the 2007 la Nerthe was our best-seller of that particular vintage, these are words that we are happy to hear...