If I had a pound for everybody who told me that they would like my job I wouldn’t need a sodding job and I could fulfil my destiny of becoming an international playboy – a role for which my forebears, rather short-sightedly, failed to provide adequate funds. Members of the general public naïvely assume that I spend ALL of my time sampling France’s vinous treasures and scoffing haute cuisine in high-end restaurants. Well, I do devote many hours to those activities but there are numerous more irksome aspects to being a wine merchant that never occur to the person cutting your hair or mixing your cocktail. Fielding phone calls from stroppy customers being a fine example. Only this morning an ennobled captain of industry threw a hissy fit and withdrew his custom because we were unable to furnish him with an astonishingly rare Northern Rhône Syrah. Tant pis – into each life some Grenache must fall.
Writing our annual wine list is another Herculean task that I wouldn’t wish on my mortal foe. I’d rather muck-out the Augean Stables any day. The problem isn’t writing about wine per se it is trying to come up with fresh angles on the same old same old. The whole thing has become like Groundhog Day and I find myself referring to ‘ozone fresh Muscadet’ and ‘briary, chest-thumping Côtes du Rhône’ on some kind of ghastly auto-pilot that it’s impossible to disengage.
Few people credit it (barring critics and fellow vintners) but one can soon pall of fine dining if over-exposed to it. Like sex and drugs and rock and roll a surfeit can be worse than a deficiency. I am put to mind of the prisoners in Essex, Massachusetts who rioted in reaction to their invariant diet of lobster, and people who work in chocolate factories seldom take their work home with them. There are times when all one desires is a cup of tea and some hot-buttered toast and not a reduction of Jerusalem artichoke purée served with a tempura of hand-picked scallops on a bed of lambs lettuce and Perigord truffles.
Tasting wine all day is also a joyless experience. After a couple of hours the flavours start to meld in your mind until it is only the really weird offerings that register. Your teeth become blackened by juice and your tongue becomes furred with tannins and your faculties start to fade – it’s no wonder that so many wine journalists are semi-certifiable.
The area about which wine-muggles are most deluded is that of the wine buying trip. By day four or five the endless offerings of pieds de cochon, rillons, rillettes, tête de veau and pot au feu coupled with incessant par-fermented vat samples of unfinished wines can really take their toll. There is almost nothing less-pleasant than having to feign interest and maintain the sang froid in the face of a full-blown Gallic gastric crise. Indeed, it was only my latent triple-jumping skills and a providentially located toilette that saved me from disgracing myself at a very distinguished Château.
If you want my job you can have it – I’m going to re-train as a masseur!
(This article first appeared in Country Calling, 15/06/2011)
January 25th is, as our Scottish cousins are well aware, Burns Night (or more accurately Burns Supper, or even more accurately Burns Nicht). Traditionally a celebration of the life of the poet Robert Burns, he is honoured by the consumption of haggis, washed down with scotch whisky.
There is a lot of pomp and ceremony surrounding the precise order of events and the presentation of the haggis, which has fortunately been annotated by Wikipedia, saving us the trouble of copying it out again here. Likewise Scotland.org ("The Official Gateway to Scotland", excluding the M74 of course) has a wealth of information on their National Poet, including a free iPhone app containing the complete works of the man himself, should you be interested.
The haggis itself is a mysterious beast - there’s even a vegetarian version of it available now, which is presumably easier to hunt down and catch – and should you be tempted to make one yourself The Guardian has instructions here, complete with a full list of (oft-discarded) ingredients. Making a haggis yourself is probably going too far – considering how long it takes just to cook the thing, a shop-bought haggis is a good idea. Serve with potatoes and turnips – tatties and neaps – both mashed, and follow with a Tipsy Laird (whisky trifle).
Essentially the haggis is a cross between prepared tripe and a spicy sausage, simple peasant fare, and good ones really are a welcome treat at this time of year. If you don’t fancy whisky with your haggis though, don’t despair – as wine expert Jonathan Ray recently pointed out in The Field magazine, Burns himself would quite likely have washed his down with claret, given half a chance:
The dinner being over, the claret they ply,/ And every new cork is a new spring of joy;/ In the bands of old friendship and kindred so set,/ And the bands grew the tighter the more they were wet.
(From Burn’s poem ‘The Whistle’, which describes a six bottles a-piece claret drinking competition!)
Whilst we couldn’t possibly condone this irresponsible over-consumption, we can recommend some sterling wines with which to toast the poet on his birthday, all of which have the Rhône / Provence herby spiciness to marry nicely with the haggis:
Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau: Saint Gayan 2007 - dark ruby colour, copious quantities of chocolate and black cherry flavours and warming tannins.
Pic Saint-Loup L’Arbousse 2009 - A rich, compelling red wine with vivid garrigue fruit aromas, an earthy palate and fine-grained tannins.
Domaine La Tour Vieille: Collioure, Puig Oriol 2007 - a dense, dark, brooding red wine that is essential Collioure.
Traditionally, the evening is rounded off with a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne. I’m sure the poet (and your neighbours) wouldn’t mind if you missed that bit though...
It’s our final day in the Rhône valley and we are beginning to flag a little as we wend our way out of Orange once again at 8.30am. We’ve long since given up trying to convince friends and family that tasting wine is an arduous task, but you can have too much of a good thing. We are now well into three figures for wines tasted and considered this week for our Rhône 2009 vintage report, so we are both looking forward to getting back home. Yet it’s hard to feel sorry for ourselves as we roll up at Domaine Saint Gayan in 20 degree sunshine. Its 9am and Mont Ventoux towers above us in a blue sky, beautiful but brutal, and Jean-Pierre Meffre takes us through his gamme covering Sablet, Rasteau, Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape (where he owns less than a hectare that abuts the vineyards of Beaucastel). We taste a succession of vintages and its clear that the 2009's will have a freshness and elegance by comparison with their beefier 2007 siblings.
Heading north (on the home stretch now) we arrive at Domaine Biguet just outside Saint Péray, west of Valence. We’re an hour late for our tasting but Jean-Louis Thiers remains relaxed and promptly shows us in to his neat tasting room. Saint Péray is commonly recognised for its sparkling wines that historically out-priced Champagne, but the still version (also made from 100% Marsanne) deserves to be better known, with aromas of orchard fruit and a ripe, rich palate.
Our final tasting en route to Lyon airport is fittingly at Domaine Georges Vernay in Condrieu. Here we taste the range of 2009 Viogniers for which the estate is justifiably world-renowned, as well as red Côtes du Rhône (interestingly from vines within the AOC limits of Condrieu) and a sleek St Joseph from 35 year old vines. Paul Amsellem (Christine Vernay’s husband) is gamely hosting a large party of Norwegians, so winemaker Christine conducts our tasting and the conversation flows from yields and lieu-dits to the ‘dematerialisation’ of the music industry.
Alas, we have to flee as our return flight beckons, but it’s been one hell of a week!
Jason & Tom.
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!
Earlier this year there were attempts within the UK wine trade to ‘talk up’ the 2008 Rhône vintage – as noted on our blog entry on March 10th. Although some perfectly decent wines were made in the Rhône valley in 2008 it was not an outstanding vintage.
Fortunately as our vineyard visits and tastings to date have confirmed Rhône 2009 is the ‘real deal’ – a markedly superior vintage that merits attention and will offer the opportunity to buy and lay down some exceptional wines. Early bottlings of junior wines that we have now started to ship such as our Côtes du Vivarais and Jean-Pierre Boisson’s excellent ‘La Côte’ Côtes du Rhône Villages show much promise that augurs well for their more senior siblings.
As in Bordeaux, Burgundy and all France’s other main wine producing regions the Rhône valley for 2009 enjoyed optimum ripening conditions in both the North and the South. A cold and wet winter and spring provided essential water reserves which were critical during August’s high temperatures. Sustained September sunshine meant that wine-makers could harvest individual parcels at peak maturity. Warm and dry conditions yielded a crop of phenolically ripe grapes with good colour, tannins and acidity - the resultant wines are already impressive in barrel but should have great aging potential when bottled. The heat meant that volumes were somewhat reduced, particularly in the south, but wine makers throughout the region are delighted with the quality of the harvest.
2009 is unquestionably a ‘Grand Millésime’ in the Rhône and comparisons are already being drawn with stellar vintages such as 1999, 1978 and the legendary 1929. We will be publishing detailed tasting notes and reports on individual wines in due course so do make sure that you have subscribed to our e-mail newsletter if you want to receive the latest information on this superb vintage.
Further expert opinion on Rhone 2009:
"To reiterate, the good news is that 2009 is looking like a potentially superb vintage. Even if you miss out on the 2007 vintage, 2009 may come close to rivaling that stupendous year, but the quality cannot be ascertained until the wines have finished their malolactic fermentation in late spring, 2010."
Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
"2009 is shaping up to be an exceptional vintage, most likely the best one of the last decade. It's indeed quite seldom to obtain such complete vintages: with white wines expressing themselves with finesse and maturity and where red wines deliver strength and elegance without being heavy."
Michel Chapoutier, Hermitage
"I knew that it could be great, but I had two worries: Will we have enough acidity and how will the tannins ripen with the lack of water? I got my answer at the end of the alcoholic fermentation: The tannins are beautiful; the acidity great."
Maxime Graillot, Crozes Hermitage
"The key was that the heat wave came after veraison so the maturity was not blocked, the grapes were concentrated and the acidity and structure was balanced."
Philippe Cambie, Châteauneuf du Pape
Having developed an unhealthy interest in cycling the legendary peaks of the Tour de France over the past few years and having my friend Paul Bottrill entered in to this year's Etape du Tour (see August 2009 posting 'Etape in Cotes du Rhone'), I chose to spend a long Bank Holiday weekend on 'recon' in the Pyrenees. Six good men and true scaled the Col du Tourmalet on Saturday 29th May following in the footsteps of Merckx, Bahamontes, Coppi, Millar and Van Impe (all leaders over this 19km, 7.4% average gradient climb).
We had warmed up on the Thursday and Friday with picturesque valley rides to Cauterets and Garvanie both ending in climbs up to ski stations, as we waited for the major Cols to clear of snow (Tourmalet at 2110m, amongst others, was initially closed) and as we found our mountain legs.
The successful ascent of the Tourmalet was celebrated with a visit to Pascal Labasse's delightful Domaine Bellegarde in Jurançon, where the residual sugar in the sweet Manseng wines seemed to serve as ideal recovery fuel. Pascal generously sent us on our way with the remains of a bottle of his late (December) harvest Sélection DB from the 2000 vintage - a handy addition to one's bidon, if ever there was.
Sunday wasn't a day of rest as we hauled weary limbs up another Hors Catégorie climb, Luz Ardiden (13km @ 7.7% average), a ski station finish that has been won by legends such as Indurain, Armstrong, Delgado and Virenque. This climb couldn't be ignored as it started at the front door of our hotel.
I finally met my nemesis on Monday half way up the Col de Marie Blanque which had lulled me with a gentle opening 4 km, before averaging 12% for the second half. Having swore blind that I was done for the trip, a finally sally up the Col du Soulor (13 km climb @ 7 %) was rewarded with meeting the Astana team and reining Yellow Jersey holder, Alberto Contador, at the top - although he didn't seem impressed by my retro gear and road-weary countenance.
So on Sunday 18th July I shall be raising a glass to Paul and giving thanks that I am not setting out to ride 181km and scaling the Marie-Blanque, Soulor and Tourmalet on the way. If you achieve it, Paul, a bottle of Selection DB is on its way!
Over the past few months, a new currency has been adopted in the sleepy village of Broughton Gifford and its surrounding hamlets. This came as a result of all the juggling that goes on in getting small children to and from where they should be. Those of you who do this on a regular basis will know that, from time to time, it requires the calling-in of favours from other parents - this originally loose arrangement is now negotiated and supported by Yapp wine.
So, how does it work? The base currency and exchange rate is roughly 2 hours of childcare for one bottle of Lirac: La Fermade 2005 from La Famille Maby which, at £9.95 a bottle, is excellent value both in childcare and wine terms. Extra half hours of childminding can be arranged with different wines and vintages - it appears the Côtes du Rhône: Cuvée Personelle 2000 gets an extra hour when compared to Côtes du Rhône: Saint Gayan 2007. I've yet to broach how long we'd get for some Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau: Saint Gayan 2006 - one of my personal favourites.
The upshot of all this activity is that now, outside the school gates and the village hall, you'll overhear parents discussing the merits of the Catalan Carignan 2007 and its 130 year old vines and how the Lirac 2005 is a little smoother than the 2007.
The big question next time we get to venture out will be - shall I "cash in" my very small number of Brézème: Eugène de Monicault 2004 bottles for a babysitter or stay in and drink in style - I suspect I already know the answer to that one.
9.00am on Monday 20th July and I found myself sweeping through the most northerly outpost of the named Côtes du Rhône Villages, Rousset-les-Vignes. Eighteen villages are entitled to add their 'handle' to the Côtes du Rhône Villages moniker, marking them out as superior to generic Côtes du Rhône. As I swept past gnarled vines and lavender fields I regrettably had no time to discover any local gems or to consider why nearby Vinsobres had gained an upgrade to full AOC status (2005), yet Valreas had not - was their topography so different? I scanned the landscape then came to my senses and realised I'd only gained about 45 minutes on the infamous 'broom wagon'.
I had entered into the Etape du Tour, a one day event that has been running for two decades and which allows amateur riders (8,500 of them this year) to tackle a stage of the vrai Tour de France with roads closed, feed stations et al. Sportingly the organisers had picked the 170km journey from Montélimar (gateway to the Southern Rhône) to Mont Ventoux, the infamous Géant of Provence. Nine-tenths of the route unfolded through the stunning countryside of the Drôme and the Vaucluse and, on another day, would have made for a very pleasant means of working up an appetite for (and riding off) a long lunch. On this occasion, Ventoux (literally) loomed large all day and the 21km climb to its summit in 37 degree heat was the sting in the tail that many had feared. Nevertheless, I finished in nine and a half hours without a broom wagon in sight. The views from the summit and the elation of completing the stage were just about worth the ascent. The 'maillot jaune', Alberto Contador, completed the ride five days later in half my time!
On April 20th my co-director Tom Ashworth and I embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the Rhône valley in the august company of the Weekend Telegraph’s globe-trotting wine-hound Jonathan Ray. The aim of the trip was to get a broad overview of both the Northern and Southern Rhône and an insight into recent vintages and developments.
After touching down in Marseilles and picking up a hire-car, our first port of call was Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf du Pape, conveniently located adjacent to the Autoroute du Soleil just south of Orange. Here, winemaking legend François Perrin conducted us on a tour of his extensive, pristine and recently renovated cellars before indulging us in a comprehensive tasting of the entire Perrin canon. All of the wines were impressive, even the entry-level La Vieille Ferme offerings. Space precludes writing too much here but noteworthy points are that the Perrins were early pioneers of organics (they have farmed without pesticides since 1960), they champion Roussanne and Mourvèdre respectively as important (and underrated) grapes in their white and red Châteauneuf du Pape and that the 2007 vintage has yielded cracking wines across the Southern Rhône. Interestingly, François observed that vintage variation is more significant for their humbler Côtes du Rhônes than their flagship wines, as these wines rely more on natural conditions than manipulation in the cellar. [Note to self: stock up on 2007 Côtes du Rhônes and Côte du Rhône Villages].
Our next stop was with another renowned Châteauneuf du Pape producer, Lucien Michel, at Le Vieux Donjon. Lucien is a man of few words preferring to let his charming wife Marie-José front the operation and his wines speak for themselves. However he does become animated when discussing vineyard politics or hunting, both of which are subjects close to his heart. Here, the soon to be bottled 2007 was hugely impressive with a wealth of juicy black fruit and ripe tannins and the newly bottled white 2008 showed youthful promise.
