I travelled up the D86 which follows the western bank of the Rhône northwards and my first stop was Saint-Désirat, (a left turn off the D86 at Champagne.... no not that one, about 1km). I had read about the ‘Cave Saint-Désirat’ which sits next to the vineyards, but has an exhibition of the aromas of the Rhône wines.... The exhibition, which was housed in the cellar of the building was absolutely fascinating (even suitable for kids) and was essentially a dozen glass bells filled with the aromas of the various grape varieties of the region, but also what can be expected at various points in the life of the wine, e.g. a young white Marsanne/Roussanne would have notes of elderflower, but an oak aged Syrah may be reminiscent of tobacco or ground coffee.
The setting for the exhibition was beautiful as a local artist had painted a number of wine related paintings which were on display...
alongside a couple of stained glass wall murals.
I nipped upstairs, where I was able to taste two wines:
Saint-Joseph – Cuvée Côte Diane 2009 (blanc) – The white had been aged briefly in oak and the Marsanne/Roussanne blend unsurprisingly had an elderflower nose with a really refreshing taste of pears, slight vanilla and the expected floral hints.
Saint-Joseph – Cuvée Côte Diane 2008 (rouge) – A 100% Syrah, again aged in oak with a blackberry jam nose with hints of coffee (as I had smelt downstairs!). This wine was surprisingly low in tannins and instead delivered a lighter blackcurrant fruity wine with a long finish.
Back on the D86, I hoped to continue on to Malleval, deemed the heart of Saint-Joseph, but here’s a thing I have discovered while driving the roads of France.... even though you are staying on the same route, e.g. the D86, without warning, the road you are on turns into another route, and you have to make a turn, to the left or right to stay on your route! It’s quite frustrating..... One imagines if one stays on a road, it’s the same road, but oh, no..... that would be just too sensible. So, you have to make a right turn to stay on the D86!
Anyway, I climbed the steep, narrow road up to Malleval – very quaint, but I was delighted not to meet any cars on the way up or down as the sheer cliff drops were quite scary and there were only a few passing points.
A very charming village, but to be the heart of Saint-Joseph, not much in the way of wine on offer, so I just decided to continue onto my next destination Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône. Another steep hill climb to view the vines of the smallest AOC in France, Château Grillet. The white wine produced here is naturally exclusive, so no tastings were possible, so back down the hill to continue to Condrieu.
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| View from Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône |
Condrieu is a white only AOC within Saint-Joseph made from the Viognier grape. I stopped in the village, had a walk around and found nobody. There was one bakery, a couple of pubs from which emanated the sounds of people, but in this very small village, I counted 11, yes, 11 hairdressers..... I can only surmise that the residents were all indoors admiring their beautiful hairstyles in their mirrors!
So, leaving Saint-Joseph, I entered Côte-Rôtie – this time a red only AOC made from the Syrah grape. The central village is Ampuis, where I happened on a little wine boutique called ‘Le Cercle des Vignerons’ offering tastings. What a charming shop and a wonderful host who took me through 6 wines – 3 whites and 3 reds – I had just finished the 2nd white when an American gentleman came into the shop and decided to try the tasting as well. Tom, as he later told me his name was, works in internal audit and was over in Lyon on work for 2 weeks, but as is the nature of business, he only had the middle weekend to explore, so here he was, trying to taste the wines and find something to take home for his wife, she preferring white, but he red. While our host took us through the wines and the types of grapes, Tom and I were able to enjoy 6 very lovely wines:
1. Saint-Joseph 2008 (white) – Christophe Pichon – This 100% Marsanne had a floral elderflower nose with a fresh pear and elderflower taste.... Just before coming into the boutique, I had eaten a little bit of goat’s cheese and the taste still in my mouth was perfectly complimented by the wine, so an ideal match);
2. Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes (white) – Domaine Barou 2009 – The apricot nose of this 100% Viognier was introduction to soft subtle white peach flavours in this mildly floral wine – nothing wrong with the wine, just not enough flavour, a wee bit bland.
3. AOC Condrieu 2009 (white) – Louis Cheze – Pagus Luminis – 100% Viognier, again with a nose of apricot and floral notes, but also of honey. The resulting taste was not, however, sweet. Instead an elegant wine with nectarine and sweet apple flavours – I know this would be wonderful with goat’s cheese as well. And as not a floral wine fan, I was totally won over by this Viognier!
4. Saint-Joseph 2008 (rouge) – Domaine Barou – This 100% Syrah wine from the south of the Appellation was organically produced in a rustic style, according to our host. The nose unsurprisingly was blackcurrant, with hints of blackberry and sweet spice. The taste was all blackcurrant, with a slight herbaceous and white pepperiness;
5. AOC Côte-Rôtie – Colline de Couzou 2008 (rouge) – Patrick et Christophe Bonneford – 100% Syrah from a difficult year, but my host reliably informed me that these were some of the best producers in the area and the wine on the nose was blackcurrant, a little blackberry , but definite violet aromas. The taste was an elegant light and fruity wine with blackcurrant, blackberry and even black cherry flavours. Compared to the tartness of some of the 2008 reds yesterday, this was a delight;
6. AOC Côte-Rôtie – Domaine de Bonserine 2007 (rouge) – La Sarrasine – 100% Syrah and from the hot summer of 07 – the nose was blackberry jam, a rich hot aroma. The wine had been aged in oak, so was therefore a little more tannic, but the blackberry jam flavours were developed from the nose, with hints of coffee.
After enjoying these wines, our very lovely host (what can I say, I had a little bit of a crush on him ;-)) offered us an extra tasting, just because he liked us, of:
AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape – Château de Beaucastel 2007 – This 80% Grenache blended with about 5 other grape varieties in small quantities was a fine example of its type and from one of the finest producers of that region. The nose was more red and black cherries, with hints of raspberry and a little blackberry and this was followed through in the taste and augmented by tannins from its barrel aging.
Tom was very keen on this and asked if it could be kept – our host informed us yes – up to 30 years – he himself had drunk a 1969 bottle this time last year and while ‘69 was not a particularly good year, the wine had still been excellent.
So, I managed to talk Tom into getting the Châteauneuf-du-Pape and to keep it for when his 14 month daughter turns 21 and he turns 50 – only a 20 year wait!
So after a wonderful afternoon’s tasting and good conversation and company, I made my way to the Domaine de Clairefontaine, my digs for the night. A beautiful setting and also home to a Michelin star restaurant – I didn’t indulge..... Not vegetarian friendly!
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