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DJ Hombre
Napa Valley, California
Barrel Filler
Posts:1366
 | | 01/07/2005 7:00 AM |
| Somebody out there has to give me a rundown on the Northern Rhone.
Ya got Hermitage, Cornas, St Joseph, Crozes Hermitage, Condrieu....?
What's what? what makes what? who do ya look for? What are the years to look for?
SO MANY QUESTIONS.
I demand answers. | | | |
| Marcel
Grape Puncher
Posts:875
| | 01/07/2005 12:50 PM |
| You forgot Cote-Rotie! Now that is inexcusable!  
Well, Northern Rhone is most famous for its reds (Syrah), although there are very good whites too (Viogner, Rousanne, Marsanne).
Cote-Rotie - reds. They can either be 100% Syrah or you can add up to 20% Viogner. There we have the Cote Blonde (La Mouline, La Chatillone, La Garde and Les Clous) and the Cote Brune (La Viaillere, La Landonne, La Chevalière, La Turque e Les Grandes Places).
Hermitage - reds are 100% Syrah (I think you can add up to 15% white but I don't know if anyone does that) and whites are Rousanne and Marsanne. Reds are usually more full-bodied than Cote-Rotie and whites are quite powerful too (they can age a bit and I sometimes decant them)
Croze-Hermitage, Cornas and St. Joseph reds are 100% Syrah. Some very good wines if you look for the right producer. I love a good Graillot or Clape! Cornas are quite tannic and intense and I wouldn't open one too soon. C-H and St. Joseph are more accessible. St. Joseph can also produce whites from Marsanne and Rousanne.
BTW, C-R and Hermitage can age very well and I recommend letting them rest. Try opening C-H and St. Joseph while waiting for your best wines to age.
Condrieu - whites, Viogner. Very good too, quite aromatic, but lighter than white Hermitage and should be drunk earlier too.
Good producer: I guess most people know the famous ones - Guigal, Chapoutier, Jaboulet, Graillot, Chave, Clape. I had some nice ones from Delas, Cave de Tain and Perret too.
99 is the best recent vintage, but 98, 00 and 01 are not bad either. Things look good for the 03s.
I'm writing this from work in a hurry, so some info might not be 100% correct or I might have forgotten something. | | | |
| ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 01/07/2005 2:04 PM |
| | I'd only one small note to Mars' post. Not only can Cote Rotie and Hermitage age very well, they prettty much need a lot of age to show their best. From a great year, these are 15-20+ year wines. Don't confuse them with New World Syrah. | | | |
| Seaquam
Barrel Filler
Posts:1141
| | 01/07/2005 2:35 PM |
| | I would add a couple more names to the list of good producers: Tardieu-Laurent (modern, oaky style, but usually excellent though pricey), and less consistent but capable of producing some excellent wines in good vintages are Gaillard, Texier, and Cuilleron. | | | |
| Eric White
San Ramon, CA
Advanced Sommelier
Posts:9147
| | 01/07/2005 4:56 PM |
| Also of note: Condrieu contains Frances smallest AOC - Chateau Grillet - it's an AOC consisting of a single Chateau  . | | | |
| JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 01/07/2005 5:22 PM |
| | I find Tardieu Laurent wines to be reasonably priced relative to their peers. | | | |
| Seaquam
Barrel Filler
Posts:1141
| | 01/07/2005 7:33 PM |
| Quote:
I find Tardieu Laurent wines to be reasonably priced relative to their peers.
At the top end (Cote Rotie, Hermitage) I agree completely. But in the mid-to-lower price range-- Crozes-Hermitage, Cotes du Rhone-- I find them pricey, relative to their peers, e.g. Graillot. At least, that's how they're priced here in our market, where only 1 wine store carries T-L I believe. Still, they're excellent wines of their type. | | | |
| JonesWineNo1
Sommelier
Posts:8568
| | 01/07/2005 7:46 PM |
| | I see what you are saying. I think the lower end wines are of a higher quality than most producers so I compare them to the cost of luxury Crozes bottlings for example from Chapoutier. | | | |
| whiner
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning
Wine Thief
Posts:2871
| | 01/11/2005 9:28 AM |
| I agree with most of what is said above. I'd only add that I think Hermitage, generally, needs more time than Cote-Rotie, all other things being equal. Also, while pricy, I think Alain Voge does a terrific job with Cornas (the easily findable Villes Vignes bottling is about $50, but probably worth it).
a | |
I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.
-- Woody Allen | |
| Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13672
| | 01/20/2006 5:02 PM |
| What are the blends typically? Are they all over the place depending on the vintage and producer? What can I most compare the different 'types' of northern rhones to (I am talking about what wines in the rest of the world are most similar to northern Rhone wines)?
And is Gigondas a northern Rhone thing or a southern rhone thing? | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
| Stefania Wine
San Jose, CA
Grape Puncher
Posts:725
| | 01/20/2006 5:13 PM |
| There are no blends in the reds. Syrah is it. As mentioned above white grapes may be co-ferminted, but Syrah is the only red grape. The permited white varieties vary by AOC. Viognier is the only thing allowed in Condrieu and Chateau Grillet. Viognier is not allowed in Hermitage which permits only Marsanne and Rousanne. I'm actually not sure of the rules in St Joesph and Crozes-Hermitage, I think you can have all three and possibly some others (Grenache Blanc) but really most of those whites are dreadful things.
Gigondas is a Southern Rhone wine, east of CdP. It's a little odd too. The AOC rule is that the vineyards must contain 80% Grenache, but the wine can contain any percentage of Grenache, or in theory none at all.
Some of my favorite values are Crozes Hermitage and Hermitage by Yann Chave, Hermitage Blanc by Guigal, and the wines of Tardieu-Laurent (Cote Rotie and Hermitage) and Graillot mentioned above.
At the top end Guigal's La La wines and J.L. Chave's Hermitage and Hermitage Blanc are some of the best wines I've ever had. | |
Paul Romero - Owner/Winemaker Stefania Wine
www.stefaniawine.com | |
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