More QRW Winter 2007/08 feature articles:

Following my efforts to persuade QRW readers that there are, even at today’s feeble dollar/euro rate of exchange, affordable Burgundies (see the previous issue), I now turn, with the same objective in mind, to the Rhône valley.

Apart from a few media superstars such as Guigal’s La-La’s, one or two top Hermitages and a few Châteauneuf-du-Papes (Rayas, Henri Bonneau, etc.) – and by no means all of these are worth it (why pay mega-bucks for Chave’s Cuvée Cathelin when the “normal” vintage is just as good, if not better – this is not a tête de cuvée, after all) – Rhône wines remain impressive value for money. Leave the several hundred dollar bottles for the label collectors. Instead concentrate on the less fashionable appellations of the Rhône valley, both north (septentrionale) and south (meridoniale).

I have loved the Rhône valley wines ever since I started drinking wine seriously. I made my first trip as a wine buyer there in 1976. I was Châteauneuf’s Domaine de Vieux Télégraphe’s first U.K. customer, one of the few to import Beaumes de Venise and Vernay’s Condrieu, a pioneer in the wines of Tricastin and a major customer of Jaboulet – much of the La Chapelle that still gets bought and sold from the 1961 vintage was originally shipped by me. On one occasion, it must have been in 1980 or so, needing some mature Hermitage for my lists, I telephoned Jaboulet. I was put through to Gérard’s father Louis, Gérard not being about. I explained the reason for the call. “Ah,” said he. “We were just thinking of putting 600 cases of our 1973 [a good but not great vintage, but just the thing I was looking for] on the market.” “I’ll take the lot,” I replied, much to the eventual annoyance of Jaboulet’s U.K. agents, who could have had a nice time spreading it around Great Britain.

The first thing to appreciate about the Rhône is that it is two wine regions, not one. There is the narrow north, with the vines clinging precariously to the valley hillsides. Here the geology is granite, schist and limestone rock, and the climate is benign but not unpleasantly hot. There is none of the brain-numbing Mistral wind you get in the south, for it wafts along about 100 feet above the vines, at least in Côte Rôtie. And then there is the extensive south, producer of 90 percent of the total harvest, on vines which lie more or less on flat plateaux on a complexity of soil structures, largely covered by the large pudding stones known as galets. Here we are firmly in the Midi, the south of France. It can be 100 degrees Fahrenheit. If it rains it comes down in torrents. But in winter the wind-chill factor will take the temperature well below freezing. The area is roughly circular, 40 miles in diameter, from the Cevennes in the west to the slopes of Mont Ventoux in the east, from the Tricastin in the north to the Alpilles of Les Baux in the south, with Châteauneuf-du-Pape as the center geographically and apex qualitatively.

The most important difference, however, is the viticultural base for the wine. In the north the red wines are made from the Syrah. They are well-colored, quite tannic, with good acidity; they need to be kept.

In the south the base grape is the Grenache, with support from Syrah, the increasingly fashionable Mourvèdre, and a host of other varieties, as much as 13 in total for Châteauneuf. This produces a round, alcoholic, spicy wine, low in acidity; it matures sooner and doesn’t keep as well. It is – dare I say it – less elegant.

What has been apparent in the last 40 years has been the emergence of the quality-oriented, small producer. Land is a lot less expensive than it is in Burgundy or the classy areas of Bordeaux (and the climate is better). A young couple can move in without mortgaging their grandchildren to the hilt. Others have extracted themselves from the cooperatives, of which there are many, mostly very good, and set up an independent existence. There has been, as in Burgundy, a revolution. There are more and more new kids on the block every year. You need to spend three months out of the 12 just to keep up with what is going on here and in the Languedoc-Roussillon. The dead hand of the multi-nationals, happily, is not to be seen; and the presence of the majority of the leading merchants – Jaboulet, Guigal, Chapoutier, Delas, Colombo, Tardieu-Laurent, etc. – is positive and not malignant.

It is in the lesser areas that the majority of these “new” domaines are to be found. This means that if you the customer seek value for money, which you obviously do, you should look to Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cairanne and the other Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages, as well as Lirac and Tavel in the south, and to Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage in the north. Choose wisely, and you will find yourself with a bottle every bit as good as a wine with a rather grander label.

This article is concentrating on the red wines of the Rhône. But before I continue with a list of specific recommendations, a quick word about the whites and Rosés. Very little Rhône wine is white. There is the delicious but fashionable, and therefore rather expensive Condrieu, from the Viognier grape. The other whites from the north come from Roussanne and Marsanne. Here the Crozes and Saint-Joseph whites are worth investigating (anything but Chardonnay!); but drink them quite soon. Look upon them as Mâcons, not Meursaults. Jaboulet’s Crozes-Hermitage is a good example, and there are the rarer Saint-Pérays from Lionnet, Domaine du Tunnel and the Domaine de Biguet.

The Midi whites have made great progress in recent years. They come from a mix of a variety of grapes such as Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Marsanne and Terret, and are usually a little spicy and not absolutely bone dry. These whites are only simple Côtes-du-Rhône, not Villages. Don’t spend a lot. Experiment until you find one to your taste and note the Vin de Pays Viogniers. Viognier is not authorized for A.C. wine, except in very small quantities. Duboeuf do a good one from the Ardèche.

Then Rosé. Forty years ago Tavel was alcoholic, oily, and rustic. It is now delicious. At a lower level are the rest of the meridionale Rhône’s Rosés. Again at a price you can afford to experiment with. Good Tavel examples include the Domaine de la Modorée, Château d’Aquéria, Château de Segriès and the Domaine Bouchassy in Lirac. Most will also offer Lirac rouge and blanc.

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Here follows a personal list of estates from the mainstream but lesser Rhône appellations.

There must be several hundred if not a couple of thousand of these on the market, ranging from those from individual growers, mainly in the southern sector, to those of the co-operatives and merchants. They are at prices at which you can afford to experiment. Go down to the shops and buy half a dozen that the proprietors recommend. Make up your own mind. For what it is worth, one of the house wines at Château Coates is the Côtes-du-Rhône from Guigal in Ampuis, home of Côte Rôtie. I am currently enjoying the 2003. One world class example of simple Côtes-du-Rhône is the Perrin’s (of Château du Beaucastel) Cru du Coudoulet; another is Château de Fonsalette; a third is the Domaine Gramemon, but all these are on the pricey side.

This is the best of the southern Rhône valley, apart from the villages listed below, and it is worth spending the ten or 15 percent more than the simple appellation above. Personally I find these less tiring to drink, because they are less alcoholic, than most Châteauneuf-du-Papes.

Domaines d’Aéria, de l’Oratoire Saint-Martin, Denis and Daniel Alary, des Amadieu, le Nonce, Rabasse-Charavin, Brusset, Marcel Richaud (all Cairanne); la Saumade, Gourt de Mautens, des Escaravailles, Didier Charavin (all Rasteau); de Piaguier (Sablet); du Moulin (Vinsobres); Château Sainte-Estève d’Uchaux (Uchaux); Château Courac (Laudan); Saint-Anne (Saint-Gervais).

Domaines le Clos de Cazeaux, de la Fourmone, de la Monardière, le Sang des Cailloux, des Amouriers, du Couroulu, Montvac and the Château des Tours (all Vacqueyras); Raspail-Ay, les Pallières, des Espiers, les Gouberts, du Grand Montmirail and Cayron (all Gigondas).

Domaines Yann Chave, des Martinelles, les Bruyères, Etienne Pochon, Gilles Robin, du Colombier, Alain Graillot, Ferraton, Belle, Combier, not forgetting Paul Jaboulet Ainé’s Thalabert (all Crozes-Hermitage); Eric Rocher, du Tunnel, Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Coursodon, Laurent Betton, Pierre Gaillard, Gilles Barge and Gonon (all Saint-Joseph).

What vintages should you seek for these sort of wines? If it’s still available, 2001, a splendid year; 2002 was less good. The 2003 is rich, very fruity, full bodied and rather more classic than this vintage is in Bordeaux and Burgundy; 2004 is very classic, and drinking very well now. The 2005 is even better, but still needs a bit of time; 2006 shows much promise. Sadly in 2007 hail ravaged much of the northern Rhône. We can only wait and hope that what was left proves to be good.