Cornas and Hermitage

In a recent tasting of red wines from the Northern Rhône, two high quality wines each from Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, and Cornas were pitted against each other. The assumption was that Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage would be the superior appellations. However, this is not how it turned out. Cornas provided very high quality and matched it with Hermitage.

                                              

The top Cornas wine was the 2010 Domaine Vincent Paris 60 Granit. This Syrah comes from 90 year old vines on steep granite slopes. It is matured in 100% old oak. This is a feminine, but powerful wine with elegant blue fruit flavours (95 points).

The 2013 Auguste Clape Cornas was almost as good. The flavour profile was interesting, although not very pure. Orange peel, musky notes, vegetable, and black pepper deliver a complex mouthfeel. There is some minerality on the back palate, too, before this wine finishes very dry (94 points). 

The top wine, however, came from Hermitage. It was the 2005 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage. It is a blend from 14 parcels of on average 50 year old vines. This is a full-bodied beast. Smoky flavours add to the blackberries. There is a bit of barnyard here, too. The tannins are impressive and the finish very long (96 points).

 

Chapoutier de L'Orée Ermitage

 The second astonishing Hermitage Blanc wine I tasted on the night mentioned a few posts below was the 1991 Chapoutier de L’Orée Ermitage. It was the first year this Marsanne was made. It comes from the lower parts of the famous hill, with the vines grown on alluvial soil.

This 30 year old wine was not as alive as the Chave reviewed previously, but it was still in very good shape. The colour was a medium intensity golden. Apple flavours and walnut made for an enticing flavour mix. The wine was smooth with a slightly oxidative bent.

Score: 93/++

Jean-Louis Chave Sélection

It is not very often one has an opportunity to drink Hermitage White, in particular from the top of the famous hill. This 2011 Jean-Louis Chave Sélection Blanche is 100% Marsanne. The 50-60 year old vines grow on iron-rich clay soils. The wine has been matured in used oak.

This wine drinks deliciously right now. The colour is still light. This wine is superbly elegant with flavours of white peach, apple seed, quince, hazelnut and a splash of marzipan. The mouthfeel is harmonious from beginning to end. The slightly waxy finish is very satisfying.

Score: 96/+++ 

 

A fabulous Shiraz/Syrah tasting

Shiraz is the most adaptable red wine grape to different climatic and soil conditions.This was very obvious in this tasting of seven Shiraz. There were wines with big fruit weight and less fruit weight, very peppery wines, powerful and elegant wines, and wines with dark fruit and chocolate, tannic wines, and acidic wines - and they were all excellent.

The first wine was the rare 2014 Kusuda Syrah from Martinborough. This meticulous Japanese winemaker produces a wine of intriguing complexity. This is a lighter style with red plum and forest berry flavours. There is green peppercorn spice, good natural acidity, and long stalky tannins. The wine has strong savoury characteristics (94 points).

The second wine could not have been more different. The 2004 Henschke Mt. Edelstone is a big wine, with black fruits, aniseed and strong oak influence. The fruit is concentrated and generous. Everything is balanced, though. This is a really enjoyable typical high quality Barossa/Eden Valley example (95 points).

Then we came to four wines from the Northern Rhone. The first was a mature 2001 Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie. Dark concentrated fruit was dominated by earthy and secondary flavours. Therefore, some layered fruit flavours, which would have been there 5-10 years ago, have disappeared. French oak was strong, and the tannins high. Most noticeable was the high level of acidity, which was too much for me. This wine split the tasters (93 points).

Wine of the night was the 2012 Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge. Concentrated and powerful, with blackberry and boysenberry fruit, this wine had the hallmarks of premium Shiraz: it is peppery, with some sweetness and silky tannins. At the same time, it was the most elegant wine of the night (96 points).

The 2009 Delas Côte-Rôtie La Landonne gave a really aged impression (not in a bad way). Raspberry fruit, aniseed,  concentrated gamy flavours gave way to earthy and rustic notes on the mid-palate, before it finished with mellow tannins. The balance of the wine was still good (95 points). 

A real surprise was the 2016 Pierre Gaillard St Joseph Rouge. This is a highly perfumed wine with fresh floral notes. Dark fruits and earthy components dominate the elegant palate. Salty and savoury flavours add to complexity. This wine shows a great balance between fruit weight, acidity and firm tannins (95 points). 

The final wine of this blind tasting was an Australian classic: the 2010 Penfolds St. Henri. This wine is quite big for the brand, reflecting the excellent vintage; deep purple, concentrated, dark. This inky wine of Barossa character has licorice and meat, but is peppery as well. The large barrel used oak plays a support role. Despite its concentration, this wine invites you to a second glass (95 points). 

A Range of Rhône

Rhône wines should really attract more interest in Australia, given the strong showing of Shiraz and Grenache in this country. Comparisons are interesting for many reasons; Grenache on its own is virtually not bottled in France, and the Shiraz styles vary in different Northern Rhône subregions. In a recent tasting, I could look at four quite different wines from the Rhône.

The 2014 Pierre Gaillard Clos de Cuminaille from St. Joseph has a fascinating flavour profile. This is a light and fresh wine, with red fruits, earth, leather, spice and herbs creating a lifted blend, almost like a Pinot Noir. It has length, too. The only disappointment after such a nice taste is the lack of tannins (94 points).

Quite different was the second wine, a 2016 Domaine Santa Duc Habemus Papam Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This is a much bigger wine with dark fruits on the palate and a lush texture. The tannins are firm, and the slightly confected finish gives the Grenache component, otherwise not so obvious, away (93 points).

The third wine was from Cornas, a 2009 Matthieu Barret Domaine du Coulet Billes Rotres. This was a dark fruited wine, 100% Shiraz. There was a lot of pepper on the nose and palate, lavender and sweet honey notes made for an intriguing taste. Overall, this wine was very intense and I thought it was slightly hot, although the quoted alcohol was not especially high (92 points). 

The final wine was the 2015 Bernard Faurie Hermitage (white cap). This is a rare wine, made in small volumes from arguably the best subregion, Hermitage, and a blend of two vineyards. This is quite a delicate wine at this stage whose complexity will only unfold over time.  Violets and delicate raspberry flavours show upfront, but one can detect licorice and meaty notes underneath. Finesse is the dominant theme (95 points).

Four Rhône wines, four completely different expressions. There is a lot of complexity in this long region. This tasting suggests it is worth unpacking. 

Chapoutier Tasting

One of my most memorable tastings of my 2015 tour de France was the tasting at Chapoutier at Tain- l'Hermitage. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to participate in another exciting Chapoutier tasting.

There are a number of key principles of Marcel Chapoutier. The winery is biodynamic since 1997, and is the largest biodynamic winery in France, and I think the world. Chapoutier does not blend varieties. It is always one (owned) vineyard, one grape variety. This is unusual for the Rhone. There are some wines blended from vineyard blocks near to each other.

The photo shows the line-up.

The three whites are all 100% Marsanne. The 2016 Saint-Peray Les Tanneurs is an entry level wine from a terroir not well known. The wine has a pale golden colour and is light-bodied. This is a vibrant wine with apple flavours and minerality, quite well focussed (89 points). The 2015 Saint-Joseph Les Granilites is a big step up. It has a darker colour, more intensity and body. This wine sees 25% oak. This is quite a ripe, yet elegant wine, with  exotic rhubarb flavours dominating. I loved this wine (94 points). The 2015 Hermitage Chante-Alouette certainly has the pedigree (and the yellow wax). It is a concentrated wine with pineapple, pear and marzipan flavours. There are honey and toasty flavours on the long finish. While impressive, I found the wine a bit chewy and heavy (93 points). 

On to the reds. The 2015 Crozes Hermitage Les Meysonniers is a blend from different plots. The wine is matured for 12 months in concrete tanks and sees no oak. It is of course 100% Shiraz and black fruited. There are some meaty and game flavours as well. The finish is a bit chewy and sharp (88 points). The 2014 Saint-Joseph Les Granilites suffered from the wet vintage and is a bit lean. It has a perfumed aroma, quite feminine. This is an elegant wine. The black and blue berries open up on the back palate (93 points). The 2014 Cornas Les Arenes is  different. This is quite a big and rich wine. Dark berry, meaty and smoky flavours deliver complexity on the palate, but in contrast to other years, the mouthfeel is soft (93 points).

We finish with wines from the famous Hermitage hill. The 2011 Monier de la Sizeranne is a blend of different blocks from the hill. They are from the lower parts of the hill. The flavours of this wine are a mixture of red and black fruits. The wine is feminine, very elegant and finishes with soft tannins and good length (95 points). The star of the evening, as expected, was the 2007 Hermitage Le Pavillion. The wine is matured in oak for 18 months, 25% new. The vines are 65 to 85 years old. It was quite a privilege to drink this wine after 10 years, as only 500-900 bottles are made each year. The wine is still quite energetic, with complex flavours of blackberry, boysenberry, olive, meat, and smoky spices. This is an intense wine you can almost cut with a knife (images of Grange come up). The finish is very long (96 points).