The Wines of the Northern Rhône

We had fun last week, a lot of fun. Opening the 9-Liter Salmanazar of Vieux Télégrape 1989, along with all the other great Châteauneuf-du-Pape, was a rare treat. This week promises to be just as great, as we turn our attention to the ancestral home of Syrah, the wine lover’s paradise of the Northern Rhône.

The Northern Rhône is one of the most unique regions in wine, with soil types ranging from schist, gneiss, granite, limestone and clay, and often difficult climatic conditions. Winemakers must work the epically steep hillside vineyards along the river doing everything by hand without the aid of machinery, as it is impossible in most sites to use a tractor. Vineyard workers, and the vines themselves, must also contend with the fiercely cold and powerful Mistral wind blowing from the north. One of the oldest vine growing regions in France, with evidence of the Romans having planted the area over 2,000 years ago. Under such difficult conditions, the reward needed to be worth the risk and the sacrifice. With some of the most unique and memorable wines on the planet, we are certainly happy the area was put under vine so long ago…

This week we will explore the heralded appellations of Cornas, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Saint-Péray and Condrieu. Monday evening, we will taste Balthazar’s wonderful 2012 from his parcel of one of the most lauded crus of Cornas. Tuesday, we will open Jasmin’s Côte-Rôtie 2006, a blend of fruit from old vines in the Côte Blonde and Côte-Baudin, as well as two single vineyard parcels, Beleyat and Tupin. We are also very excited to open a double magnum of Crozes-Hermitage on Friday this week, as well as the phenomenal Cornas from Mickaël Bourg. We will also have otherworldly white wine on hand this week, with Vernay’s Condrieu ‘Coteau de Vernon’ from the center of the Condrieu appellation, truly a reference point for the Viognier grape. We will also open a beautiful Saint-Péray this week, an appellation that often does not get the attention it deserves. This was not always the case historically, as Pliny wrote of Saint-Péray inNatural History, and Napolean Bonaparte is said to have had his first wine experience drinking the fine sparkling wine of the appellation when he was a cadet in Valence. Pliny and Napolean are good references, come see what all the buzz is about.