Our last day in the Rhône valley and feeling a little road weary, but we’ve saved the best till last. Appointments at Clape, Graillot and Chave proved to be as exciting as we had anticipated. A multiple cask sampling chez Clape is always an enjoyable experience, but not for the faint-hearted. The 2010 vintage in Cornas is another corker and is arguably more typical than the fruit-forward 2009. With blackened teeth and stout hearts we bade our fond farewells as we headed off across the Rhône to see our old chums Max and Alain Graillot. The 2009 vintage was always going to be a tough act to follow, but the naturally low yielding 2010 is a belter with a massive concentration of fruit and rugid tannins, we could have been forgiven for thinking we were back in Cornas.
Maxime Graillot
We adjourned to the celebrated Le Mangevins restaurant in Tain l’Hermitage for a convivial lunch. NB. This is worth booking in advance as it’s first rate, but there are only four tables!
An afternoon spent in the company of Jean-Louis Chave is always illuminating. The cellars were hiving with activity as barrels were being emptied and replenished post vendange. We are happy to report that the 2011 vintage was harvested in bright sunshine, thus completing a triumvirate of cracking back to back vintages.
Jean-Louis Chave
We’re heading home for a cleansing ale and baked beans on toast before starting our diets next week. A fascinating week tasting what is clearly a magnificent 2010 vintage.
(Continuing the voyage down the Rhône valley this week, to catch up with vigneron friends and get an insight into the Rhône 2009 vintage).
Domaine Jean-Louis Chave is a key reference point for the entire Rhône valley, and securing an audience with Jean-Louis himself is never easy. Space precludes going into too much detail here, but the red Chave Hermitage 2009 has the potential to be a legendary wine and on the strength of our cask tasting I would be surprised if Jean-Louis did not produce a bottling of his prized Cuvée Cathelin. All of the components that are required for a classic, age-worthy red Hermitage are here – a wealth of dark fruit flavours and well-structured tannins underscored by a fine acidity. The finished wine won’t hit these shores until Spring 2012, but it will be worth the wait. Not to be overlooked is the Chave’s peerless white Hermitage which should also be ‘bien classique’ in this impressive vintage.
Just South of Tain l’Hermitage, at Les Chenes Verts, young Maxime Graillot exudes confidence at the purpose-built winery he shares with his semi-retired father Alain. Their red Crozes Hermitage is juicy and fruity and will provide rewarding drinking from the off. A new negoçiant cuvée of Cornas called ‘Equis’ was hugely impressive with a core of dark Cassis fruit over a foundation of ripe, subtle tannins. We wound up a great day’s tasting with the Graillots’ fresh, youthful white Crozes (20% Marsanne / 80% Roussanne) already bottled under screw cap and selling rapidly.
Tomorrow we head south for Châteauneuf-du-Pape to see if the wines of the Cotes-du-Rhone Meridional can compete with their cousins in the North.
À demain (hotel wi-fi permitting),
Jason & Tom
