Emile Champet - 1970

Emile Champet - by the Rhône at Verenay beneath the Côte Brune, circa 1970.

In response to a barrage of queries from an American wine journalist I have been rifling through our cellars, my old note books and photograph archives as well as grilling my father for arcane facts about the Champet family's vine holdings and our trading history with them. We first shipped wines from Emile Champet back in 1972 when we listed the (very good) 1970 vintage of his only cuvée of Côte-Rôtie and we have continued to ship the family's wines ever since. As Northern Rhône vignerons have enjoyed international recognition in late 20th and early 21st centuries this small, family-run operation has remained refreshingly understated and continues to be a source of well-crafted, honest, traditional wines with a strong sense of terroir and relatively modest price tags.

 

Old Champet Panneau

 

Emile Champet, who was born in 1925, produced his first commercial bottling of Côte-Rôtie in 1967 having previously sold his wine en vrac to local négociants. He had managed to acquire small parcels of vines on both escarpments in the appellation and from (at least) 1978 onwards this was reflected on a neck label that read 'Côte Blonde' on the right-hand side and 'Côte Brune' on the left. He was joined by his son Joël (born 1955) in 1985 and 5 years later, on reaching the mandatory age for 'la retraite', at 65, nominally retired. He did however hang on to an officially sanctioned half hectare of vines and continued to bottle Côte-Rôtie under his own label up to and including the (excellent) 2005 vintage producing around 2,400 bottles a year for friends and long-standing clients. Emile died in 2007 aged 82.

 

Joel Champet in his cellars

Joel Champet in his cellars

 

From 1990 Joël Champet concentrated his efforts on the acclaimed single vineyard site of 'La Viallière' above Verenay on the Côte Brune where he has now reclaimed and re-planted 3 hectares of vineyard surrounding the (self-built) family home and winery. The 'Côte Blonde' epithet was dropped from the Domaine's wines in the 1983 vintage and from 1990 onwards they have all been bottled as 'La Viallière'. The family still own Emile's original plots on the Côte Blonde' but they lease these to other wine-makers in exchange for vines which abut their main vineyard. Today Joël is ably assisted by his 2 sons, Romain, whose name was added to the label in the (short and hot) 2003 vintage and Maxime, who joined the operation in 2009 since when the wine has been bottled as 'Domaine Champet'.

 

Romain, Joel and Maxime Champet - June 2015

Romain, Joel and Maxime Champet - June 2015

 

All 3 generations of the family have favoured a cépagement of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier that are vinified together in a whole bunch field blend before being racked into concrete vats for 2-3 weeks before a 10 month élevage in used oak casks and barrels. The finished wine seldom has an alcohol level above 12.5°; the highest I can find in our cellars is the legendary 1990 which is labelled with an ABV of 12.8°. Nothing much has changed here over the last 43 years because nothing much has needed to be changed. The Champet Côte-Rôtie is, in many ways, the antithesis of the pumped-up, oaky, concentrated Northern Rhône Syrahs that came into prominence in the 1990s. They are unreconstructed and all the better for it. In his 1997 tome 'Wines of The Rhône Valley' Robert Parker, who many would argue has influenced wine making in these parts more than anyone else wrote: "Stylistically, I find (Joël) Champet's Côte-Rôtie the closest thing to a big Côtes de Nuits burgundy (a spicy, aggressive Chambertin comes to mind instantly) than any Côte Rôtie made by his peers."

 

Yapp wine list 1972

Yapp wine list 1972

 

Typically the Champet's 'La Viallière' has a deep purple robe when young, and appealing dark black fruit, violet and pepper scents, the mid-weight palate has pure, granitic dark fruit flavours underscored by cool mineral notes and a fresh acidity supported by fine-grained tannins. It drinks well on its youthful fruit but comes into its own with 5-10+ years bottle age. Compared with many of their peers the Champets have eschewed outside attention and 'stuck to the knitting' which is why they are due some belated recognition for maintaining tradition and a true sense of terroir and a moment, at least, in the spotlight!

 

The first bottling of 'La Viallière' - Domaine Champet 1990

The first bottling of 'La Viallière' - Domaine Champet 1990

 

 

Great to see so many Yapp customers at our tasting at Vintners' Hall on Tuesday evening, many of whom gamely had a crack at identifying our blind wine. We never find blind tasting easy (indeed, it's often humbling), but it keeps one match-fit and focuses the mind.

 

Patrick Jasmin’s Côte Rôtie 2001

 

The wine was Patrick Jasmin's Côte Rôtie 2001. Only one individual identified the appellation and they reckoned it was 2009 (which shows how well the 2001 has aged). Close, but no cigar - we'll send them a corkscrew as we're feeling generous! Several entrants thought the wine was Burgundy which isn't far off the mark as Patrick's Côte Rôtie has been described by Robert Parker as "the most Burgundian of the appellation". Here's Bob's tasting note on the wine itself which he scored 90-92/100:
"The 2001 Cote Rotie's deep ruby color is accompanied by explosive aromas of sweet raspberry fruit intermixed with a hint of apricots (7-8% Viognier is added to the blend). Well-delineated and floral, with a cherry/raspberry fruit component beautifully displayed, this medium-bodied 2001 is not a blockbuster, but it wins the taster over with its delicacy and finesse."

 

Three Wine Men - Competition Autumn 2014

 

We also wrapped up our competition to win bottles signed by the 'Three Wine Men' Olly Smith, Oz Clarke and Tim Atkin.
Ms. Benson from Yorkshire receives the bottles as she was randomly selected from 'correct respondents'. There were five runners-up, and the answers were as follows:

  1. This Gamay is from the Ardèche, but which French region just north of Lyon is most famous for making wine with this grape? Beaujolais
  2. Côtes du Thongue is part of which vast wine region beginning with 'L' that runs from Arles to Perpignan? Languedoc
  3. Château Fouquet lies in the appellation of Saumur. What is the name of the neighbouring appellation where you can ONLY make red wine? Saumur Champigny

Watch these pages for more competitions and, in the meantime, more practice needed on your blind tasting!

 

 

"While most of France's major wine regions struggled in 2012, the Rhône stands apart. Vintners are positive after a growing season and harvest marked by dry, sunny weather and well-timed rains."
James Molesworth - The Wine Spectator

Having read extensive reports about the success of the 2012 vintage in the Rhône Valley over recent months it was a great pleasure to get out there at the tail end of October and taste in person, in situ from barrel and bottle. Although I was optimistic about the quality of the harvest and the wine-making talents of the growers who supply us there really is no substitute for tasting wines sur place with the people who make them. Overall I was pleasantly surprised, even against a contextual background of positive reports. 2012 is not a blockbuster vintage in the North or the South. In the main it has delivered wines of pure fruit, great balance, elegance and charm. I think the 2012 Rhône wines will drink well from release and should have the capacity for good medium-term aging up to 10-15+ years.

 

 

I hope the attached video filmed at the gateway to the Rhône Valley in Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie will give further insight into my initial impressions.

Saluté

 

Jason Yapp Signature

PS. You can view Part 1 of my report (Hermitage, Jean-Louis Chave and Alain Graillot) and see our en primeur offer on our Rhône 2012 vintage report page.

 

 

Long before I met my wife she belonged to a Wine Club in Cardiff, not that I think really this was for genuine oenophiles but more of a social club where the cheese got as much attention as the wine. It was though by all accounts great fun and had a loyal following.

At one such gathering she was persuaded to buy a bottle of Chapoutier Côte Rôtie 1996 (for what was then an unusual concept – drinking at some point in the future). This bottle has been with us now for more years than I care to mention, moved house with us and still with its hand written sticker “DO NOT DRINK UNTIL 2010”

It’s been an ongoing debate – as 2010 passed, when would we actually drink this single bottle?

Last weekend we had friends round, a normal drill of each couple bringing one of the courses – Richard decided on Beef bourguignon (after a few errors with a beef wellington earlier the previous day) – so we decided that we may as well finally drink the CR96.

Côte Rôtie - Jasmin & Chapoutier

It felt like my Chemistry A level practice all over again – I knew the theory – now it was time for the real thing. We decided on a face off – we lined up a Jasmin Côte Rôtie 2004 to ‘compare and contrast’ – well, following the science A level reference – more an experiment control. So, having asked (one of) our resident Rhone experts at Yapp HQ I was ready.

We kept both bottles outside during the day – it was 12-13 degrees, so ideal – warmer than chilled whites but cooler than normal red serving temperature. We decanted (with military precision) both bottles 1 hour before serving the Beef bourguignon.

Côte Rôtie corks

The 1996 on pouring was thinner and browner that the 2004 –and on decanting had hardly any nose. The 2004 however had a classic Northern Rhone nose - a bouquet of raspberries and violets and a palate of dense black fruit flavours and ripe tannins.

However, an hour later the 1996 had literally blossomed – and now in comparison was way in front – always reassuring when your revision comes good in the exam!

The 1996 Côte Rôtie was devoured by all at the table, it was delicious and had a finish that was seemingly never ending.

Should you want to repeat this at home (we had great fun doing it) you’ll find our selection of Côte Rôtie wines here.

Happy drinking!

Domaine Champet

Another pre-dawn awakening as we shuttled up a fog-bound Autoroute de Soleil to make our first appointment in Côte Rôtie at 10.00am. We found gregarious patron Joel Champet talking up the merits of the 2010 vintage as well as the prospects of ‘Les Bleues’ in this weekend’s Rugby World Cup Final: "they have nothing to lose". Down the road in Ampuis, Patrick Jasmin was equally upbeat and an extensive barrel tasting of his 2010 vintage fully justified his bonhomie. We then enjoyed a terrific lunch at his local bistro ‘La Serine’ which boasts a cracking wine list, perhaps unsurprisingly, as it is jointly owned by local winemaking luminaries Villard, Cuilleron, Gaillard and Villa. With a well-executed menu of regional cuisine this is a highly-recommended pit stop for those travelling in the area.

Cote Rotie 2010

After a morning sampling young Syrah it was somewhat of a relief to head South to Condrieu where tastings at Château Grillet, Francois Merlin and Domaine Georges Vernay reinforced our view that 2010 is a stonking white wine vintage in the Northern Rhône.

Joel Champet

Joel Champet

To Dean Street in Soho last Wednesday for the opening of the latest outpost of the Bistro du Vin and Bar. This is a simple but ingenious concept which is basically the same well-tested offering as the Hotel du Vin but without the bedrooms. The emphasis is on simple menus using great quality ingredients coupled with a well-chosen wine list with plenty of interesting selections by the glass. So far the site locations have been spot on – the first Bistro opened on St John’s Street in Clerkenwell in March and its Soho sibling is in an equally buzzing locale. There are plans to open several more in the near future so do keep an eye on the HdV website to check on developments: www.hotelduvin.com

I thought I would arrive early at around 7pm, to avoid the crowds, but was misguided on the front as by the time I tipped up the place was packed. Strangely there were a handful of male models clad only in boxer shorts (at least I assume they were models and not just daringly casual dressers) and at least a brace of, fully-clothed, cricketing heroes in attendance – I spotted Ian Botham and Freddie Flintoff but there might well have been others. I also managed to track down head sommelier Romain Auderie and my old friend Ronan Sayburn, the group Director of Wine and Spirits. They generously allowed me to put their pristine new By the Glass dispensing machine through its paces and it is a thing of beauty. I can’t think of anywhere else where you could sample a glass of Dageneau Pouilly Fumé, white Château Rayas, Leflaive Bâtard Montrachet or Jasmin’s Côte Rôtie (in which I must declare an interest) in the knowledge that they would be in perfect condition.

There was, of course, some terrific-looking food being handed out but the room was too busy to be easily navigated so I didn’t really do the victuals justice. Having previously dined in the Clerkenwell Bistro I can testify that the grills are excellent and the service is both efficient and friendly. I’ll definitely be back to visit under my own steam and although the HdV is a heavily-branded chain it does have heart and soul and the souring of local ingredients and interesting wines is a winning combination.

Tom and I are making a whistle-stop voyage down the Rhône valley this week to catch up with vigneron friends and get an insight into the Rhône 2009 vintage, of which we have heard great promise. After driving south from Lyon in heavy rain on Sunday evening we started tasting bright and early on Monday in Côte Rôtie with our old chum Patrick Jasmin. Tasting through the constituent parts of Patrick’s wine is always a pleasure, the 2009 shows huge potential with a wealth of violet and red berry aromas, a deep core of sweet black fruit, fine tannic structure and a bright acidity.  All the ingredients are here for a Grand Vin. Patrick only makes one cuvée of Côte Rôtie and the 2009 should be a tub-thumper.

A tad further north on La Viallière climat of the Côte Brune, Joël and Romain Champet’s single vineyard 2009 Côte Rôtie is already finished and ready for bottling. This is an Old School northern Rhône Syrah with no new oak and an attractive bouquet of blackberries and blackcurrants, a mid-weight palate of briary hedgerow fruit and supple tannins. This is a classic, traditional Côte Rôtie and, on past form, should represent cracking value for money.

After a welcome lunchtime pit stop at the winemakers’ favourite haunt, Le Chaudron restaurant in Tournon (great food, fabulous wine list) we drove down to Livron-sur-Drôme to sample Jean-Marie Lombard’s Brézème. Both of Jean Marie’s Syrahs were showing very well from cask.T he Grand Chêne is dense and dark with autumnal fruit aromas and tastes over pitchy tannins. The Eugène de Monicault usually exhibits a little more finesse, but is still a trifle closed at present – there is clearly lots of fruit and structure here but it needs time to integrate.

Beetling northwards back towards Cornas we rounded off a fine day’s tasting with a mammoth degustation with three generations of the Clape family (Auguste aged 85, Pierre 60 and Olivier 31). This is a dynasty given to modesty and the Clape’s seemed almost embarrassed at the exuberance of fruit in their 2009 wines. There are notes of the blockbuster 2003 vintage here but against a more restrained background, with a fresh acidity and greater phenolic ripeness. In short, the Clape’s 2009 wines are sensational.

Tomorrow we look forward to visits at Messrs Chave and Graillot.  Day One impressions are that Rhône 2009 is living up to the hype, bring it on!

At Yapp Brothers we are blessed with a spacious boardroom which is used for many meetings but few of them are as convivial as last night's dinner for Accenture and Vodafone Business Intelligence. Our old friend Clive Greenhalgh, patron of the Ambassador restaurant, cajoled us into opening our cellars after hours while he set up a field kitchen to cook a magnificent feast.

After a reviving aperitif of Vouvray Mousseux Brut from Domaine Aubert we enjoyed a rapid 'Tour de France' wine tasting in our shop in Mere. We then adjourned to the boardroom where Clive and his trusty assistant Harry served us Lobster 'Two Ways' (classically poached with a garlic mayonnaise and with a lime and avocado Ceviche). With the lobster we drank a Condrieu: Terrasses de l'Empire 2008 from Domaine Georges Vernay - which was a heavenly pairing. The aromatic, mid-weight Viognier married perfectly with the firm Brixham lobster and coped well with the slight chilli kick in the Ceviche. Here at Yapp Brothers we crash on (at length) about food and wine matching but it seldom gets better than that.

Our next course was a Foie Gras Terrine with Quince Compote and Toasted Brioche which we partnered with small glasses of Montlouis 'Côte Saint Martin' 2003. This apple-scented, gently honeyed wine was a terrific foil for the rich goose liver and met with universal approval.

The great thing about the onset of Autumn is that one can start to appreciate some warming red wines from the Rhône valley. With some wonderfully tender Fillet of Longhorn beef served with Pommes Anna and Cep Gratin we broached some of our library stock of Patrick Jasmin's 1998 Côte Rôtie and a 2004 Châteauneuf du Pape from Le Vieux Donjon. The Côte Rôtie was starting to mellow with age, exhibiting some attractive sous bois scents and briary fruit flavours but the Châteauneuf' was the real crowd-pleaser with a core of blackberry and cassis tastes over tannins that were beginning soften and sweeten. We followed the same estate on to our cheese course with a 1986 Vieux Donjon that was served with an enormous chunk of our local and the finest Montgomery Cheddar. Some purists argue that one shouldn't serve red wine with cheese but there were no complaints and the 23 year-old Châteauneuf' held up very well tasting fully mature but by no means over the hill.

We rounded the evening off with a chocolate mousse and a Banyuls Cuvée Réserva from Domaine la Tour Vieille. The chilled, sweet, dark wine made a fine accompaniment to the rich chocolate flavours and everyone agreed that Clive and Harry had excelled themselves. If only all our board meetings were so pleasurable!

If the assembled wine-tasters from Baltimore-based asset management company, T Rowe Price, would rather have been in the park on the finest summer evening this year, they weren't letting on.  Instead, shoe-horned into an upstairs room in this traditional City boozer, they proved to be a model audience and even threw in some tricky questions - what dictates the size of the bubbles in sparkling wine and is there a correlation with quality? No, was the answer to the latter when you are talking about bottle-fermented (although the cheapest method of sparkling production which involves pumping C02 through tanked wine will produce large bubbles which will rapidly dissipate). The Champagne Companion (Michael Edwards, Firefly Book 1999) notes that 'bubbles should be uniform in shape, lively, and flow in a persistent stream toward the surface of the wine; Experts differ about the ideal size of bubbles. Most Champenois say that the smaller the bubbles, the better the Champagne, but large bubbles are not necessarily the sign of an inferior wine - your palate is a better judge.' If any one out there can convincingly improve on this thesis, we'll send them a bottle of Yapp Champagne!

Highlights of the Rhone wine tasting (it was sparkling Saint Péray that attracted the effervescent debate) were Domaine Georges Vernay's rare, single-vineyard Condrieu Coteaux du Vernon 2007 (400 cases produced) which was tasted (perhaps unfairly) against the Ardèche co-operative's generic Viognier (eminently drinkable, but not in the same league) and Patrick Jasmin's Côte Rôtie 1999. This was Patrick's inaugural solo vintage (following the untimely death of his father, Robert the previous year) and it proved to be everything one might hope for in traditional (rather than single-vineyard, super charged) Côte-Rôtie wine - rustic-nosed, medium-bodied, supple, smoky and silky.

We departed into the balmy night and the discreet group never let on whether they managed the assets of a certain Baltimore-based wine critic.

On Day 2 of our Rhône trip, we schlepped north to Côte-Rôtie for a protracted barrel tasting with our old chum Patrick Jasmin. Harvesting here was a tough job in 2008 and Patrick had to pick his grapes in 3 different stages to obtain optimum ripeness. An early sampling of Patrick’s 2008 revealed a lightish, elegant wine that I think should drink well when young. The 2007 is denser and firmer but the signature Jasmin ‘burgundian’ softness is clearly evident. This is a classic rather than blockbuster vintage and we look forward to tasting the final vintage.

A short hop down river to Condrieu took us to the hallowed premises of Domaine Georges Vernay where Georges’ daughter and head winemaker Christine and her husband Paul Amselem were waiting to greet us. Tasting Vernay is always a pleasure as this is the spiritual home of the Viognier grape - which Georges (who is an active octogenarian) championed, almost single-handedly, during the lean post-war years.

Despite depleted volumes, Christine is pleased with the results of the 2008 vintage which was hard work in both the vineyard and cellar. All of the white wines here are made from pure Viognier and all exhibit wonderful, clean, clear, almost tropical fruit and understated elegance and finesse. The star of the show is the flagship ‘Coteau de Vernon’ from Condrieu’s most prestigious vineyard, which has an amazing concentration and complexity and a long ageing potential. These days Christine is also producing some fine red wines including a fragrant and juicy Vin de Pays Syrah and some superb Côte Rôtie.

After tasting we adjourned to Condrieu’s famous Beau Rivage restaurant for a relaxed and convivial lunch overlooking the mighty river Rhône. Our meal was accompanied by a fine Condrieu from Robert Jurie and a mid-weight Côte Rôtie 2004 from Philippe Faury that was a perfect match for my Navarin de Chevreuil. I praised Christine’s modesty in not selecting her own wines but she pointed out that it hadn’t been an option as they had sold out of the entire Vernay range. We may be mid-recession but it seems that there is enduring demand for exemplary wines.

After bidding farewell to Christine and Paul we headed down to Tain l’Hermitage to visit the HQ of another Rhône visionary - Michel Chapoutier. Here the genial young Export Manager ‘Florent’ tutoured us through an extensive range of Chapoutier wines from a humble Tricastin to mighty single-vineyard Hermitages. Obviously this is a rather polarised portfolio varying from wines with a million bottle production to real rarities that are sold on a strict allocation basis. If there is a common thread here it is that all the Chapoutier wines have a true sense of terroir and a polished perfectionism which gives them their enormous commercial appeal.

That evening we dined well at ‘Le Mangevins’ a lively new Bistrot à Vins which is a cork’s throw from the Chapoutier premises. The food here is simple and well-executed with some interesting Asian twists courtesy of the patron’s Japanese wife, who presides in the kitchen. The wine list is a delight and very reasonably priced – we enjoyed a 2007 Condrieu from Domaine Vallet and a fine, earthy 2004 Cornas from Alain Voge before retiring to our modest but well-run billet – the Hôtel Les Deux Coteaux, right beside the Rhône in the centre of town.