Rhone

Beautiful dark and juicy flavours in this lively Cotes du Rhone, which offers great value for money and also offers a complex look at the smooth, appealing structure and velvet mouthfeel of wines from the southern Rhone Valley. 

Even more appeal, the Chapoutier wine team now seals with lovely red with a screw cap to ensure it tastes just the way it did when it was made at the winery. 

This fresh, aromatic southern Rhone red blend offers excellent value. Fruity and soft, with a medium body and a smooth texture. The nose shows a red fruit character with a herbal nuance. Ripe fruits dominate the palate with a peppery edge and balanced acidity. Domaine Charvin uses organic farming methods.

 Old vine Grenache (50-80 years) with Syrah, Mourvedre, Vaccarese and Counoise

"Charvin may indeed produce the Richebourg of Chateauneuf du Pape.? - Robert Parker. Laurent Charvin runs this small family estate located in the north of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The domaine has vineyard holdings of just 8 hectares in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and 13 hectares in Cotes du Rhone. The average age of the vineyards is over 50 years old with the oldest being nearly 80 years of age. Laurent Charvin describes his vineyard site as being ?cool? for Chateauneuf as their vines are mostly planted on sandy north facing slopes.

"This has some interest; a little spicy kick on the finish that brings character and complexity. There?s a good sense of freshness and it?s very concentrated, with ripe black cherry flavour. The alcohol is on the high side, but this is classic stuff. Has some depth of gummy texture and an intense muscular grip to the tannins with a long, resonant finish. Charvin rarely shows well from barrel, so this could be very good indeed when it's mature. Organically grown at the north-west of the appellation, lieux-dits Cabri?res and Maucoil, galets roul?s and sand. It's fermented and then aged for 21 months in concrete using indigenous yeasts, then bottled unfiltered." Drink 2022 - 2030 . 93/100 Decanter, Matt Walls

"Tasted blind. Attractive combination of stemmy, herbal aromas with rich black fruit. Lots of pepper and clove character too. Strongly spiced, possibly at the expense of fruit, but I like its distinctive and definite character. 82% Grenache, 5% Syrah, 5% Mourv?dre, 4% Vaccar?se, 4% Counoise. Aged for 21 months in concrete. Tank sample. (RH)."  17/20 JancisRobinson.com, Richard Hemming

Clape Cornas Renaissance is crafted from the Clape estate's younger vines, offering a more approachable and vibrant expression of the appellation. These vines are, nonetheless, over 30 year old, primarily in the Les Sabarotte and Geynale lieux-dits providing heady full bodied Syrah with aromas and flavours of boysenberry, star anise and cola - silky polished tannins and keen acidity. Traditional winemaking approaches, including whole-cluster fermentation, and maturation in old oak foudres enhances the wine's aromatic intensity and structure of the wine offering a fresh, yet profound, interpretation of the esteemed Cornas terroir.

A lovely, deep and dark violet colour in the glass, this wine opens with mineral and smoke accented dark berries, liquorice and spicy black pepper on the deeply perfumed nose. The palate flows energetically with juicy cherry and blackcurrant flavours and more of the smoky minerality found on the nose which adds lift and depth. The finish is long with floral and tapenade pinned together with well defined ripe tannins.

Maturation - 16 months in oak barrels used for several earlier vintages

Good value and delicious flavours are the name of the Cote du Rhone game and this southern French red over delivers, big time. It's a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourv?dre. All grapes were fully destemmed and fermentation took place in temperature controlled concrete tanks, with 25 days of maceration. Gentle pumping over followed by maturation in concrete tank defines the traditional vinification of this lovely, lively, fleshy dry red. Great buying.

Southern Rhone white blends offer great value for money and this wine is no exception, thanks to the complexity that the grapes each bring to this fleshy ablend, made from 60% Clairette, 30% Viognier and 10% Grenache Blanc. Fermentation is in thermo-regulated stainless-steel vats and there is no malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged 6 months in stainless steel on lees before bottling. Very tasty, expressive white with flavours of ripe peach, a full body and lingering finish.

Succulent drink now C?tes du Rh?ne from the Sabon family, renowned in Chateauneuf du Pape. This wine has black and red fruits delivered in a beautifully balanced, silky, medium bodied mouthful. The blend is 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah with the rest Carignan, Mourvedre and Cinsault.

This is one of our favourite C?tes du Rh?ne villages wines, thanks to being a great producer and a complex blend of grapes, including 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre. This lovely blend provides this wine with its dark colour, deep rich concentrated fruit flavours and impressive structure. All of which makes Cassagnes de la Nerthe a wine to age as well as to enjoy right now.

It is made from grapes grown in S?rignan du Comtat, 20 kilometres north of Ch?teauneuf du Pape. 

This is a top wine from an excellent producer - worth keeping or enjoying. Better still, buy a case of it and do both. 

A rare and special Cotes du Rhone made entirely from the dark spicy Syrah grape which delivers big time in this full bodied dry red that has ageing potential to burn - and it drinks beautifully now, especially with meaty savoury dishes. 

Buy two and age one. Supplies are limited. Get in fast.

The 2022 De Boel France Cornas, also known as "Ars Magirica", is a plush red wine from the small Cornas appellation in the Northern Rhone Valley made, of course, from 100% Syrah grapes. 

The wine undergoes a two-month natural fermentation in stainless steel, with 40% then moved to old barrique for eight months of aging. The two wines are then blended together and bottled in July, with the wine being released in the October proceeding the vintage.

The wine has a spicy nose of pepper, liquorice and pork fat, leading to a palate of complex black fruits leading to a supple palate offering further deep black fruits and gamey notes.

This is a sleek, detailed and fragrant, offering from Gaillard, one of the Northern Rhone's true stars.

Grapes from several parcels in the high country of Malleval, Chavanay, and Limony in the far north of the appellation go into this wine. The vines lie closer to Vienne and Condrieu than to Tournon-sur-Rh?ne in the south and Gaillard?s steep, cool soils have plenty of granite, which contributes to the mineral cut of this perfumed and vibrant Syrah. 

Classy unoaked Chardonnay from the Coteaux Lyonnais just north of the Rhone Valley and made by a well respected Rhone producer in the shape of Clusel Roch.

A bright fresh and energetic wine with citrus, white stone fruit and floral notes.

Shockingly good given the difficulties in Crozes during the growing season (it rained - a lot), the 2021 Crozes-Hermitage Silene has a pretty, complex, elegant perfume of red berries, spring flowers, cedary herbs, and pepper, with some classic Northern Rh?ne bacon fat. Nicely textured, medium-bodied, and elegant, with good ripeness, it's a rock-solid, classic, old school-styled Crozes to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years.

90 Jeb Dunnuck, May 2023