2006 Rhône Offer – A Bracing
Concentration
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introduction to offer
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The South
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Centenarian Grenache vineyard with the Mont Ventoux
behind
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To travel from the northern to the southern
Rhône is to voyage from a continental climate
into a Provençal one. Here one finds a drier,
less green landscape and climatic conditions affected
by the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea. One also
finds things much flatter, as much of the region is a
wide plain.
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This is wilder terrain, sparsely freckled by stunted
herb bushes that perfume the air into a heady, warm
soup; a soup one is more than happy to drink in when
travelling to the region.
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As in the north, the wines resemble their
surroundings. They are broad and warm and often give
off those scents of the garrigue: that herbal
note that emanates from the thyme and rosemary plants
growing wild in the sun-drenched earth.
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Much has been made of the panoply of grape varieties
that the wine makers of the south have at their
disposal, especially in Châteauneuf-du-Pape,
and it is a fact that the wines of this region are,
at their essence, blends. And yet the core of all
these wines is Grenache, a variety much maligned for
producing a sea of cheap, characterless tat from
young, over-producing vines planted on the wrong
soils, but one that is gaining in stature
year-by-year where yields are controlled and the
vineyards have attained a proper state of
maturity.
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Street in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
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The Vintage
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2006 has produced a style of wines of great class and
style in both the northern and southern parts of the
valley. Whilst '05 threw up solid wines, wines that
will require some years in one's cellar, 2006 offers
an unusual purity, freshness and focus; no bad thing,
especially in the south where Grenache can sometimes
gallop out-of-control towards over-ripeness. Allied
to their freshness is great concentration: a
combination that is something of a Holy Grail for
wine makers and growers alike.
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The Growers
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Pierre Usseglio
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The improbably clean cellars; Thierry in full
flow
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Of Italian descent, the Usseglio family is now split
into two domaines in Châteauneuf, this one,
which is run by brothers Thierry and Jean-Pierre and
that owned by their uncle Raymond and run by his
daughter.
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One can scarcely believe that this is a working
winery. Such is the cleanliness within it appears
more like a model or a museum than the real
thing.
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The wines here just go on getting better and better.
Here's Parker: "This estate has been on an outrageous
run of successful vintages ever since
1998…2005 is a very structured, concentrated,
powerful vintage…Their 2006s are among the
great successes of that vintage…"
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition, Pierre Usseglio, Southern Rhône, France |
2012-2020 |
6x75cl |
£99.00 |
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| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Mon Aieul, Pierre Usseglio, Southern Rhône, France |
2014-2022 |
12x75cl |
£480.00 |
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Domaine du Pégau
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The ancient door to an antique vat at
Pégau
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Here's one of the places to come if you're looking
for a taste of traditional Châteauneuf at its
best.
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The vintage really suits this style of wine not that
there's ever anything wrong with it! Yet the
freshness of 2006 adds dimension to the meaty,
slightly rustic fruit.
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Laurence Feraud had broken her hand at Vinisud in a
car crash and was suffering a bit. Small dogs played
at our feet. There seems to be a never-ending supply
of the things, including one that they rescued after
it was dumped in their vineyard.
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Domaine Giraud
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Marie Giraud, our tasting and one of the more
playful of the domaine’s dogs
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Behind pink/orange walls and a large electric gate in
the town of Châteauneuf fine things are
happening. Marie Giraud and her brother
François are steadily taking their estate into
the upper levels of the galaxy of wine producers in
this most wine-centric of towns.
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Classique, Domaine Giraud, Southern Rhône, France |
2012-2020 |
12x75cl |
£180.00 |
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| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Gallimardes, Domaine Giraud, Southern Rhône, France |
2014-2025 |
12x75cl |
£231.00 |
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| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache de Pierre, Domaine Giraud, Southern Rhône, France |
2014-2025 |
12x75cl |
£321.00 |
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Clos des Papes
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Clos des Papes has a new cellar with some
interesting features. Here, a doorway leading
to…terroir!
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Vincent Avril, proprietor and wine maker here, is
less parochial than some of the wine producers one
meets in Châteauneuf. He has less of that
distinctive southern twang to his accent and his
wines are widely known and widely appreciated. During
our tasting he receives a 'phone call on his mobile
from André Ramonet, one of the finest
exponents of white burgundy. Vincent has to pause to
relate a tasting note of one of André's wines
that Vincent had consumed with dinner the previous
evening. Each vintage, the Delon family of
Château Léoville-Lascase swap wine on a
case-for-case basis with Clos des Papes. Vincent
tells us that he currently has 70 cases of Lascases
in his cellar: the result of this arrangement.
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Clos des Papes, Avril, Southern Rhône, France |
2015-2030 |
12x75cl |
£357.00 |
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| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Clos des Papes, Avril, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2018 |
12x75cl |
£252.00 |
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Château Saint Cosme
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I met up with Louis Barruol in London to taste this
2006s. For many years, Saint Cosme has been producing
among the finest wines of Gigondas and Louis is
pushing quality to ever higher levels.
In addition to his domaine wines, he has added a
range of negoçiants labels, bearing the name
Saint Cosme i.e. minus the denomination
"Château". Upon these he lavishes the same
quality to detail. The results are
scintillating.
Interestingly, Louis's family owns a vineyard in
Gigondas called Le Poste, the soil of which is unique
in the appellation for being entirely limestone. The
resultant wine is amazing; almost more a burgundy
than a southern Rhône wine. He makes a very
little of it and I tasted it in London. Following a
high degree of begging, scraping and assorted sucking
up, I have managed to secure a 6-bottle case for the
Bowes portfolio. I will wax lyrically about it when
it's mature in, perhaps, a decade's time, so keep an
eye open…
As mentioned, this exemplary producer in Gigondas
buys in fruit to extend its range. Their
Côte-Rôtie is listed in the Northern
Rhône offer under the name Saint
Cosme.
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Côtes-du-Rhône Les Deux Albions, Château de Saint Cosme, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2016 |
12x75cl |
£129.00 |
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| 2006 |
Gigondas, Château de Saint Cosme, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2020 |
12x75cl |
£135.00 |
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| 2006 |
Gigondas Valbelle, Château de Saint Cosme, Southern Rhône, France |
2014-2025 |
6x75cl |
£135.00 |
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St Préfert
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Isobel Ferrando looks relaxed about the quality of
her ‘06s
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Tasting with Isobel Ferrando is an absolute delight.
She is both charming and interesting to listen to and
has immersed herself in both this domaine and her
negoçiants wines, labelled as Colombis.
Isobel's husband is mayor of a local town and Isobel
herself was once a banker. They have invested heavily
in St Préfert and the returns on that
investment are evident in the glass.
"Since the talented Isobel Ferrando began making the
wines at Saint-Préfert, quality has
soared…She also demonstrates a terrific knack
of turning out great dry whites." Robert Parker
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reserve Auguste Favier, St Préfert, Southern Rhône, France |
2012-2020 |
12x75cl |
£222.00 |
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Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, St Préfert, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2018 |
12x75cl |
£222.00 |
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Domaine de Trévallon
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Proprietor Eloi Durrbach in the cellar at
Trévallon
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"Trévallon is one of the best, and best-known,
wines of Provence." So stated Remington Norman in his
book Rhône Rennaissance.
Trévallon has existed since 1973, when Eloi
Durrbach decided to plant vines at a property his
parents had purchased as a holiday home in 1960.
The vineyards are parcellated and the soil a
blasted-looking mass of limestone chunks. It faces
north, which is why Eloi decided that Cabernet was
preferable to either Grenache or Mourvèdre,
neither of which ripen well with this exposure.
Cabernet is also the reason behind Trévallon's
classification; the local appellation laws only allow
the inclusion of 20% Cabernet in the wines, so Eloi
now labels his wine Vin de Pays des Bouches de
Rhône.
The principles here are simple ones: restricted
yields and an avoidance of chemical treatment in the
vineyard.
The Trévallon red is now a 50:50 blend of
Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The combination of
limestone and a northerly exposure give rise to a
wine that relies more on complexity than power. It is
also a wine that ages very well in the cellar, taking
years for its full potential to be realised.
Eloi himself is an extremely nice man. His eyes have
a twinkle of humour about them and he speaks with
unbounded confidence about his estate and its
wines…and so he should. They are superb!
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The limestone rubble that is the soil at
Trévallon
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Trévallon Rouge, Domaine de Trevallon, Vin de Pays des Bouches de Rhône, French Country, France |
2015-2025 |
12x75cl |
£291.00 |
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Domaine Tempier
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2006 |
Bandol Cuvée Classique, Domaine Tempier, Bandol, France |
2013-2025 |
6x75cl |
£81.00 |
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| 2006 |
Bandol Cuvée Tourtine, Domaine Tempier, Bandol, France |
2016-2030 |
12x75cl |
£252.00 |
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| 2006 |
Bandol Cuvée Migoua, Domaine Tempier, Bandol, France |
2016-2030 |
6x75cl |
£126.00 |
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» 2006
Northern Rhône Offer
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