2007 Rhône Offer – Not All About the
South!
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The South
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Fountain and trees in the square in
Gigondas
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This is the big one: a vintage that has been
attracting the sort of praise levelled – a few
years ago – at the 2005 Bordeaux harvest. And
there is good reason to speak well of these wines.
Even among the stellar vintages experienced (save for
2002) since 1998, 2007 is a stand out.
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So what sets it apart? What prompted Robert M Parker
Jnr to state,
“Throughout the southern Rhône, 2007 is
the greatest vintage I have tasted in my thirty years
working in that region”?
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During my week of tastings in the region, I had the
opportunity to examine these wines in detail –
stopping regularly for high-fat meals featuring the
more obscure parts of domestic animals – and to
form a good idea of where their strengths lie.
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And what strengths! Châteauneuf-du-Pape could
never be accused of being a shrinking violet. With
the appellation law stipulating a minimum alcohol
level of 12.5%, these are wines that display very big
hearts on the sort of sleeves that would not look out
of place on a 1970s prog
rock guitarist.
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The 2007 harvest is a sort of culmination of its
immediate predecessors, all of which display
fascinatingly divergent characters (an excellent
reason for buying examples from each vintage). It
takes something of the style of each year and then
steps forward into a different dimension
again.
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And the thing that really strikes one about these
wines is not their towering abvs (we tasted wines up to
17.2% natural alcohol!). What blew me away was their
precision, their elegance, focus and, well,
beauty.
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If one could imagine Audrey Hepburn after a course of
steroids and a couple of years of pumping iron, yet
managing to retain her salient gorgeousness, one
comes some way to understanding the extraordinary
nature of 2007 as a vintage in the southern
Rhône Valley.
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The Growers
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Château Saint Cosme
and Domaine Santa Duc
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There are less than a handful of estates in Gigondas
that regularly compete, toe-to-toe, with the best
that Châteauneuf-du-Pape can
offer. The two estates listed here are the best of
that grouping.
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Robert Parker says of the wines of Domaine Santa
Duc, “They set
reference points for what Gigondas can be,“ and goes on to state,
“Only Louis Barroul
at St.-Cosme achieves the
same quality”.
Stop, Robert! You’re making us look too good.
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2007 |
Gigondas, Château de Saint Cosme, Southern Rhône, France |
2011-2018 |
12x75cl |
£144.00 |
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| 2007 |
Gigondas Prestige des Hautes Garrigues, Domaine Santa Duc, Southern Rhône, France |
2013-2022 |
12x75cl |
£252.00 |
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Domaine Giraud
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Marie Giraud and the happy tasters
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In 1998 a generational change took place here, Marie
and her brother François taking over from
their father, Pierre. François is the
viticulteur, working in the vineyard to
produce the best possible fruit. Marie is the wine
maker, ably assisted by the mighty talent of Philippe
Cambie, a larger-than-life character who consults at
some of the top properties of Châteauneuf,
including Saint Préfert (see below), Pegau
(ditto), Clos du Mont Olivet, Vieux Donjon and Clos
St Jean.
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The wines here are going from strength to strength.
Three red cuvées, none less than superb.
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition , Domaine Giraud, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2016 |
12x75cl |
£201.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Gallimardes, Domaine Giraud, Southern Rhône, France |
2011-2020 |
12x75cl |
£312.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache de Pierre, Domaine Giraud, Southern Rhône, France |
2012-2022 |
6x75cl |
£219.00 |
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Domaine Saint Préfert
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Where dreams are realised, both for the taster and
Isobel Ferrando
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It is a cause for excitement that in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
– the oldest appellation contrôlée in
France – one regularly finds new players who
are intent on pushing themselves and their wines to
the furthest heights possible. Isobel Ferrando is one such newcomer.
These wines are exceptionally good. The white is now
among the finest in the appellation.
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Auguste Favier., Domaine St Préfert, Southern Rhône, France |
2013-2023 |
12x75cl |
£306.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Collection Charles Giraud, Domaine St Préfert, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2025 |
12x75cl |
£324.00 |
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| 2008 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc., Domaine St Préfert, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2018 |
12x75cl |
£306.00 |
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Domaine Pierre Usseglio
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Tasting in the spotless cellar at Domaine Pierre
Usseglio with Thierry
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Thierry has a barrel of Grenache. Well, he has quite
a few actually, but one in particular he was keen for
us to taste. I was mystified when he went on to tell
us that it wasn’t for sale; wouldn’t be
included in any of his blends; was to remain réserve
de la famille
. He had intended to use it in his top cuvée,
the Deux Frères,
but he cannot bring himself to part with it. Tasting
it, I could see why. I guessed that the alcohol was
15%, perhaps 15.5%. Thierry smiled almost sheepishly.
17.2%! And he couldn’t get it to ferment dry,
so there are 5 grams per litre of unfermented sugar
in it! How a wine can be such a body builder, yet
remain so light on its feet, I have no idea.
Super-heavyweight boxer with flyweight legs!
“2007 is another stunning
success from brothers Jean-Pierre and Thierry Usseglio.” Robert
Parker
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition, Pierre Usseglio, Southern Rhône, France |
2012-2020 |
12x75cl |
£261.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Mon Aïeul., Pierre Usseglio, Southern Rhône, France |
2014-2030 |
12x75cl |
£711.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Deux Frères, Pierre Usseglio, Southern Rhône, France |
2015-2035 |
6x75cl |
£1,110.00 |
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Domaine du Pegau
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Tasting in the cellars at Pegau with M Feraud
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Pegau’s
wine is among the most traditional of the
appellation; that is to say that it displays all
those characteristics that come to mind when one
thinks of classic Châteauneuf-du-Pape: that
gamy, meaty wildness tinged with the scents of the
Provencal landscape: herbs and dried soil.
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2007 is a vintage that fits the style here like a
glove. The exuberant wildness has been partly tamed,
lending 2007 Pegau a
beauty and purity I’m not sure that I’ve
ever seen at this estate before. I was, frankly,
gobsmacked.
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Something odd occurred after our visit. M Feraud told us that his
daughter, Laurence, and her English husband were in
town at a huge blind tasting the purpose of which was
to select wines of the region to be sent to Paris for
the annual wine competition. M Feraud persuaded us to go up
there for a nose ‘round. Indeed, there were two
vast floors of small tables at which hundreds of
vigneronswere
sipping and spitting their way through thousands of
wines.
We were directed upstairs, ushered to a table by a
small man with a large beard. There we were presented
with a flight of white wines to judge. I spotted
Laurence across the room. She was at a table tasting
some top Châteauneufs, so I went
over there instead.
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Château de Beaucastel
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A stroll through the vats in Beaucastel’s cellars
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I felt more than a frisson of excitement on our last
morning in Châteauneuf. This was to
be the morning that I visited Beaucastel for the first
time.
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Of course, I have known the wines for years. I
clearly remember being present at a vertical tasting
of 10 or 12 vintages not long after I joined the
trade and, yes, I remember it being love at first
sight.
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Shortly thereafter, I overlooked a case of 1990
Hermitage La Chapelle and
a case of 1990 Château Beauséjour-Duffau-Lagarosse
to take a lot of 3 dozen 1989 Beaucastel at Sotheby’s
one day when I attended the saleroom with a dreadful
cold. I still have a single bottle of that wine
remaining.
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This is a pilgrimage site in the appellation, for
years producing among the greatest wines of France,
both red and white.
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“This is a marvellous portfolio of wines, from
the extraordinary values, to the top-end world
classics.” Robert Parker
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| Vintage |
Wine |
Drink dates |
Case size |
Price
IB |
Notes |
Order |
| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Southern Rhône, France |
2014-2025 |
12x75cl |
£444.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, Southern Rhône, France |
2016-2030 |
6x150cl |
£450.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2022 |
12x75cl |
£480.00 |
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| 2007 |
Châteauneuf-du-Pape Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, Southern Rhône, France |
2010-2025 |
6x75cl |
£369.00 |
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| 2007 |
Coudoulet de Beaucastel Rouge, Southern Rhône, France |
2012-2018 |
12x75cl |
£126.00 |
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| 2007 |
Coudoulet de Beaucastel Rouge, Southern Rhône, France |
2013-2020 |
6x150cl |
£126.00 |
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Clos des Papes
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Talking to Vincent Avril about his lovely, lovely
wine
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Look. I’m really going to say nothing about
this save that we had a very fine visit and tasted a
great many wines, all of which will be blended to
form the final cuvées. We have a very little
of the red, so you can ask. You never
know…
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