2015 is getting a lot of press all over Europe, but my biggest interest lies in the Rhone. That said, it’s a relatively young love, and I’m curious to hear what you veterans are buying, both for for early drinking and cellaring.
So far, I’ve purchased:
Faury St Joseph VV
Graillot Croze-Hermitage
Vincent Paris Cornas Le Geynale
I haven’t bought any Southern Rhones yet - even less experience there. So far, I like but don’t love them (in general), but I’m curious what others are into.
Envoyer just sent out an offer for the Voge Les Chailles @ $50, which sounds like a higher price than years past, but this is 2015 after all.
What happened to the various Chapoutier No. Rhone offerings? Many of my usual vendors when from the 2014 offerings to the 2016 pre arrivals without showing the 2015’s.
The few lower level wines from the Northern Rhone that I’ve had have been very good: Vincent Paris’s St. Joseph and Barou’s St. Joseph and VdP Ardeche syrah. Definitely ripe, with boatloads of fruit, but not over the top for my somewhat AFWE palate.
I’ve tasted the Graillot, and the “regular” Faury, and they were both very good (I slightly preferred the Faury). I would expect the Faury VV to be outstanding. Geynale should also be terrific, though I haven’t yet had it.
I swore of almost all southern Rhones some years ago. I would only touch them in a much cooler year, which 15 is not.
My first couple Northern Rhones were Cote Rotie, which is a bit like learning to swim in the deep end. Wouldn’t recommend that. Try a St Joseph from well known producer (like Domaine Chave), preferably with a few years on it. 2011’s are drinking great right now.
Yes, probably better to start with some of the more approachable wines. 2015 is a good vintage to stick your toes in the Northern Rhone waters, since it’s not short on fruit. Among the “lesser” wines that shouldn’t be too hard to find or too expensive, I’d suggest:
Clape - Vin des Amis
Jaboulet - Dom. Thalabert - Crozes Hermitage
Vincent Paris - St. Joseph
Alain Graillot - Crozes Hermitage
(Some of the wines on people’s lists here, like Gonon and Allemand, are very hard to get your hands on.)
The “regular” Faury St Joseph (not VV) is really good, pretty open for drinking, relatively affordable and easy to find. Try that one and see how you like it before diving in too deep. If you want to turn it up a notch, another wine to try is Clape’s Renaissance.
And don’t limit yourself to 2015. 2013 was an excellent year (slightly under the radar), and 2014 got snubbed by the critics. It was indeed a more difficult year, but good producers made some very fine wines.