With winter approaching,now is the perfect time to look at
some wines from the Rhone Valley. So for the month of May, Wine Connect is
offering an excellent Rhone Valley tasting pack which will illustrate the
breadth of flavours from the North to the South of the Rhone Valley.
The northern appellations of the Rhone are planted
predominantly to Shiraz (Syrah) with small plantings of Viognier for white
wine. Sometimes growers in the Cote Rotie will blend a small quantity of
Viognier with their Shiraz at the fermentation stage. This is done to give a
softer texture to the wine. Oddly it also has the added benefit of stabilising
the red colour in the wine. So contrary to what you might assume, the Shiraz
with a touch of Viognier might have a deeper colour than without. The
central area of the Rhone is almost exclusively Shiraz and this is the case
with the Crozes Hermitage we have selected. Crozes Hermitage is located just
south of the Hermitage township, and it is highly regarded for its great value
wines.
Further south again, we find ourselves at Chateauneuf du
Pape where the red wines can be a blend of three or four different varieties.
The varieties you would know best are Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre but many
wines also contain quantities of Cinsault and Carignan to name but a few of the
varieties available to the winemaker.
Domaine Michel & Stephane Ogier
This wine is deep red in colour, with a lovely spicy nose,
and aromas of white pepper and cloves. The intensity of the colour and bouquet
follow through on to the palate which has delicious sweet fruit, soft tannins
and lovely length, reflecting a year of good ripeness and complexity. John and
I tried this wine against some other Rhone wines that were twice the price and
we were of the opinion that it surpassed these wines for quality and value.
"Vivid purple. Assertive aromas of raspberry compote, floral oils and Asian spices, with a smoky nuance in the background. Fresh, sweet and seamless on the palate, showing vibrant red and dark berry flavors, a lively mineral nuance and good back-end cut. The sweet, energetic finish features supple tannins and an exotic violet pastille nuance. This suave wine will give plenty of Cote- Roties a run for their money."Stephen Tanzer
2 x Oratoire Cotes du Rhone Les P'tits Gars Rouge 2013
This wine is a blend of 80% Grenache and 20 % Shiraz. The
colour is deep ruby red and on the nose, you would swear that it was 100% cool
climate Shiraz, as it has the most delightful peppery nose. So often Australian
Grenache has a very sweet, almost confectionery nose, but you won’t see any of
that here, it is all delightful pepper. The palate is soft and silky with a
seamless transition from fruit to tannin to acidity. This is a lovely wine
to drink now and over the next 2 to 3 years. Ian and John
“This is possibly the best domaine in the entire Côtes du Rhône-Villages area. The wines are full, intense and concentrated, surprisingly sophisticated. At less than half the price of a top Châteauneuf this domaine offers splendid value for money.” Clive Coates
"Domain de l'Oratoire St-Martin is one of the Southern Rhone Valley's most conspicuous overachievers, making wines that are far above their humble appellations. All of their wines go into the bottle with no filtration and only a light fining. This is the type of estate that brings smiles to consumers who happen upon their wines. They are reasonably priced and qualitatively equivalent to wines selling at two or three times the price.” Robert Parker
Lovely purple hue, very youthful for a 3 year old wine.
There are aromas of liquorice with a touch of mocca and anise in the absence of
any oak. The palate is fresh and full of youthful fruit flavours. This is a
lovely wine to drink now or over the next 5 years. Ian and John
2012 Crozes Hermitage, which was bottled in August, is a big, rich and soft effort that has ample dark fruit, olive tapenade and tobacco leaf aromas and flavors to go with a straightforward, easygoing feel on the palate. It too is a delicious drinker to enjoy over the coming 3-5 years. JEB DUNNUCK, Parker's Wine Advocate
Domaine Yann Chave
Just a reminder that we still have taste packs from Della
Fay Wines and our Italian selection available on our website
