FFW 2021 Wine Catalogue

Northern Rhône

RHÔNE NORTHERNRHÔNE

Bordeaux and (more recently) Burgundy are highly traded commodities. Onlywith a handful of producers and vineyards doNorthernRhône market prices get anywhere near tomatching these. TheNorthernRhône is undoubtedly one of France’s great redwine producing regions capable of producingwines of prodigious ageing ability, purity, minerality, richness and depth. Although said to have originated in Shiraz, Iran, and eventually settling here viaGreek and Phoenician trade andRomanplanting, the northernRhône is Syrah’s heartland. Only 5%of thewinemade in the Rhône region ismade here in theNorth - virtually all its finewine. The South, amuch broader region – geographically and viticulturally – produces vast amounts of bulkwine for cheap consumption. Much like inBurgundy, it is important tomake choices based on the growers andnégociants rather than just via appellations. For example, a white calledGranit Blancmade by Vincent Paris inCornas, is of excellent quality. Cornas does not have awhite grape allowed – so although grown alongside Syrah inCornas, producers are forced to classify it as IGP Ardeche Also, as inBurgundy the plots and parcels are divided into numerous small family holdings, some contracted to big négociants. When tastingwith the regions’ excellent producers you are almost as likely to be in a garage or small cellar. Glitzy tasting rooms are a rarity. All this drives home the down- to-earthnature of the region’s wines, and especially thewinemakers, fromtop to bottom, without compromising on quality at the higher end. The highest quality northernRhône appellations areHermitage (top producers include Chave , M. Chapoutier ) andCôte-Rôtie ( Gilles Barge , BernardBurgaud , Clusel-Roch , Levet , Jamet , Ogier , Rostaing , Jean-Michel Stéphan and

Vidal-Fleury ) withCornas ( Auguste Clape , Alain Voges and Vincent Paris are notable producers) following closely behind. Crozes-Hermitage can be of good and consistent drinking quality in the right hands, see thewines of Domaine de Colombier as a high-quality example of a grower-producer, as well of course of M. Chapoutier and Jaboule Aine . St. Péray extending southwest of Cornas, and the better-known St. Joseph produce enjoyable and approachablewines when good, and somewines that are probably better avoided. Hugh Johnson is hisWorld Atlas ofWine explains, “the temptation to stretch a goodname to bursting point has already overtaken St. Joseph”, expanding fromsix communes (97 hectares) in 1969 to 45 communes (648 hectares). Naturally the original six arewhere youfind the best wine – grown on the granite slopes rather than the valley floor. Vincent Paris’ version is very good value and very high quality. Although in brief, that’s the reds, but what of thewhites? Condrieu is the region’s only all white appellationmade fromViognier – again whose heartland is herewhere it thrives on the decomposingGranite. Redsmade in the Condrieu AC area are classed as St. Joseph (St. Joseph’s whites aremade fromMarsanne-Roussane blends). Treated badly and in thewrong sites though, it can be unctuous and flabbywithout any of the lift such a heavyweight grape requires. Yves Cuilleron , Rene Rostaing and Philippe Faury make notably goodCondrieuwhichwe buy each year. Other top estates to look out for are StephaneOgier and PierreGaillard . Viognier isn’t just used in Condrieu but is also blendedwith Syrah inCôte- Rôtie to give thewines amineral and refreshing lift. This is admissible inHermitage too, though it is rare. Tom Meade

Expression of the terroir is themost important thing I think, especially in Côte Rôtie. We have a great diversity of lieux-dits here, all very different and unique so the hardwork is done in the vines. When it comes to harvest I want to find those characteristics inmy wines, not oak. Be as natural as possible.

—RENÉROSTAING

62

WINE CATALOGUE