When in Rhône (the northern parts) tl;dr

Last year I first got to experience the Northern Rhône as I spent five days in the area with my two friends. We had an absolute blast at the Marché aux vins d’Ampuis and also visiting some top producers’ cellars (you can find the report here Good times in Ampuis (tl;dr) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers). The only thing not so great was the weather as it was absolutely freezing - no need to spend any extended time at the vineyards. Thus we wanted to do a similar trip a little bit later this year and early May turned out to be the best fit. Unfortunately it happened that my French-speaking friend could not make it in the end so now we would have to survive with whatever I remember from the basics course many years ago and what I have learned reading wine labels. No problem!

As we arrived early on Sunday no visits had been arranged so we decided to focus on eating and drinking and - should the weather permit - do a little hike up the Hermitage hill. For lunch we drove to Auberge Monnet, the most charming restaurant by the Rhône in the quiet village of La Roche-de-Glun, situated a few kilometers south of Tournon/Tain. The lunch menu items were quite rustic but tasty. The sommelier brought several reds (CR, Cornas, CH) for us to taste and we ordered glasses (and then another ones). All three producers were totally unknown to me but especially the Crozes was drinking mighty nicely and at this point that was more than enough to satisfy my thirst. Empty at first, the place soon filled up with locals. The atmosphere was lively and jolly. The shelves were full of old empty bottles from the likes of Verset, Grippat, Trollat and others. Clearly some good times have been had here!

The merry couple running the restaurant also have a wine shop in the same building and they were happy to open the door for us to view the selection. Many good names were available but what really caught our attention was the healthy amount of Dard & Ribo they were stocking. They even had the rare Hermitage blanc which we had not been allowed to buy at the winery when visiting last year. We kindly informed Mr. Eric that we would like to buy a bottle and we would also be willing to pay the actual price instead the 23 Euros someone had written on it. We also picked up a bottle of the same producer’s Saint-Joseph Rouge ‘Pitrou’ for our Hermitage hill piquenique which in the end was not meant to be as the weather gods seemed to be really mad at us.

For dinner we would have preferred to go to our favorite joint in Tain-l’Hermitage, Le Mangevins, but as it was closed my friend had booked a table at Maison Gambert. This one has a fantastic location in the middle of vineyards in a building where the founder of the Cave de Tain co-operative used to live. I can see the terrace being THE place to dine outdoors in Tain when it is not dark and raining brutally. While they offer a large number of wines from the co-op they also have many good ones from other producers. In fact I was really tempted by the red from Clos Cibonne (Provence) but in the end we chose Saint-Joseph Les Grisières 2015 by André Perret as this was the only wine not available when visiting the great fellow in 2017. Unsurprisingly (for the vintage) ripe, dark-fruited and powerful this wine yet has the balance and elegance Perret’s wines are generally known for. It would probably improve some in the cellar. The food was quite fresh and modern - refined but not too posh. Good service and moderate prices - definitely a worthy place.

Next up: the first day of visiting producers plus Le Mangevins.

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Looking forward to more of this! Thanks.

The second day of our trip started with a 40min drive to Saint-Pierre-de-Boeuf. Here in the northern parts of the Saint-Joseph appellation one can - with enough patience or just a lot of luck - find Aurélien Chatagnier’s domaine. Indeed the address does not state any kind of a number and there is no sign whatsoever to indicate the presence of a winery. Fortunately my friend had a good hunch after we had driven past the domaine three times and indeed we finally found Aurélien.

This young fellow has been running the domaine since 2002. What started with a plot of Gamay now consists of around 10 hectares, covering the appellations of Saint-Joseph, Condrieu and Côte-Rôtie. Additionally Aurélien gives Guy Farge some Condrieu in exchange for some really high quality Cornas. Aurélien does not speak perfect English but that was only a mere challenge as he had all the eagerness in the world to discuss his wines with us while tasting through the whole range (10 wines, if I am not mistaken). It is of really, really high quality all the way from the IGP Gamay to the Côte-Rôtie and the Cornas. They are very much terroir-driven, elegant and thoroughly drinkable while being also very classic. The farming is organic and native yeasts are used for fermentation. Of the reds my favorite was the Cornas, funny enough, but that is not a knock on the wines he has farmed himself. I also really enjoyed the lighter Saint-Joseph rouge called La Sybarite and his IGP single parcel wine Le Crêt Louison, which very much is a superb Saint-Joseph in disguise. Of the whites I liked the energetic Saint-Joseph Blanc the most.

Aurélien is a really funny character and we got to see more of that as he was present at the Condrieu wine and cheese fair the next day. While he did have a stand there he was mostly seen away from it, eagerly tasting other producers’ wines. He is a super friendly guy and I have zero doubt that he is on his way to significant renown. The wines are affordable right now but that is bound to change due to the quality and scarcity. No sales were offered at the domaine but fortunately it could be arranged that he brought the bottles we wanted to buy to the Condrieu fair the next day.

For lunch we (finally) were able to go to Le Mangevins. As we walked in Vincent the owner happily welcomed us and right away we felt like at home. The food and the wines were once again on point as together with the 2016 Domaine du Colombier Crozes-Hermitage blanc we had a magnificently singular and tasty first course of white asparagus velouté and poached egg. The wine was fresh and floral and complemented the dish very nicely. The main was some perfectly cooked duckling with green vegetables and it was paired with the 2015 Saint-Joseph rouge ‘Aléofane’ by Natacha Chave, the sister of Yann we were told. Stylistically this wine was (perhaps partly due to the vintage) not quite my cup of tea as it has a roasted note to it but with the food it served its purpose without problems. To finish things off we had some cheeses and there was no disagreement between us that the very old Ossau-Iraty was one of the best we have ever had. I have had several versions of it before and always liked it a lot but this was something else - as deliciously hedonistic as it gets.

After the lunch we decided to visit the other top spot of Tain, the Compagnie de l’Hermitage wine shop. I had visited and seen the owner Georges Lelektsoglu a couple of times last year but now it was his son Adrien who was present. He seemed like a very approachable and easy-going fellow, happy to talk about wines in the shop and otherwise. Together with his wife/girlfriend he runs a wine bar called Le Bateau Ivre on the way to the river from the wine shop. While the shop is full of great items what really turned our heads this time were the 1996 and 2000 Cornas bottles from a domaine called Cuchet-Beliando. We were not familiar with this name but once we were told that the wines had been made by Robert Michel until 2006 it was clear we must buy a bottle.

Next we headed to Mauves for an appointment at the Bernard Gripa winery. Unfortunately the experience was not a special one. We were welcomed by a lady (easy on the eyes, it must be said) who was merely there to pour the wines before getting back to her office work, or so it seemed. On top of that only two wines - the regular 2016 Saint-Joseph and an IGP wine with 70 % Cabernet Sauvignon) - were poured. The Saint-Joseph was very good for its level but otherwise there is not much to say about this visit. We had been informed beforehand that “all the whites are sold out” but I think this expression does not quite achieve what they had probably tried to communicate.

Leaving the Gripa winery disappointed we decided to try our luck with the Jean-Claude Marsanne winery next door. There is a really old sign announcing that inside the walls is indeed a winery and another big sign indicating the doorbell. After waiting a minute or so we were about to leave but suddenly started hearing some signs of life. Soon the door was opened by a small elderly lady. While my French vocabulary is seriously lacking there is one word I know particularly well and indeed ‘dégustation?’ is all that was needed for us to get in the cellar and taste through the range. The lady did not speak any English whatsoever so no discussion took place but nevertheless we were happy just to taste the wines. Especially the Saint-Joseph rouge is a nice wine that provides the most authentic experience, I think. A Gonon Light, if you will.

There were a couple of hours of spare time before our third visit so some time-killing was to be done. We first headed to a wine shop in Tournon called La Cave Balthazar. While a shop with a very nice selection the experience was a strange one. Whenever we would comment or ask about a wine the owner would try to steer us towards some other bottle. When we praised his selection he responded that the really good bottles are in the back. When we then asked whether it would be possible to go and have a look the response was a delightfully strict “no”. We really had no idea if the guy was messing with us or not but as this all had us feeling as strange as it did we chose to pick up a couple of bottles of the 2015 Marc Sorrel Crozes-Hermitage and get on our way.

As we still had some time left before returning to Mauves we decided to go back to Compagnie de l’Hermitage to get bottles of Gripa’s Saint-Joseph Le Berceau. Even though the visit was far from a great one we had nevertheless left the winery confident about the quality of their wines and this one had a great allure being priced so highly.

Finally it was time for our third visit of the day: Domaine Pierre Gonon. My friend had visited Jean several years ago but for me this was a first. The winery has reached quite a fame by now and prices are on the rise. One might think that visits would be hard to come by but no; Jean greeted us with great enthusiasm, handing us Zalto glasses. We took the round stairs down to the dark cellar. During a short chat and introduction Jean told us that my friend is one of his German merchant’s biggest customers when it comes to his wines. My friend was not aware of this as he does not really buy anything crazy but I guess it’s more about the size of the shop’s allocation. In any case quite a funny occurrence, we thought.

We tasted through the barrel samples of the new vintage. When my friend first visited in 2012 Jean did not yet blend all the parcels right away, ageing them separately instead, but shortly after he changed to doing so as he feels it brings the best results. Next we tasted 2016s and 2015s from the bottle. The wines were of uniform high quality but it really cannot be overstated how unusual of a vintage the 2015 is, especially when compared to 2016 (and 2014 in some addresses now and last year). Jean commented that is has really started to close down and it is not hard to agree. Right now I feel that I really prefer the more classic vintages but it will be extremely interesting to see how the 2015s turn out once they approach maturity.

While the wines were unsurprisingly great the real highlight of the visit was getting to meet Jean. He seems to be the most down-to-earth guy - confident about his wines but as far from arrogant as possible. When we mentioned the hype surrounding his wines currently he smiled widely and responded: Yes. People are crazy." He happily answered all our questions and was really talkative otherwise too. When we mentioned our earlier Marsanne visit he was really supporting about his neighbor and praised how the quality of the wines has improved ever since they stopped selling the best fruit to a co-op. He also mentioned that he never drinks his own wines at home as he would only be too critical and analytical. He is a big fan of the wines of Burgundy and raved about a restaurant in Meursault (Le Soufflot) that he had just been to during the weekend. Overall this was a dream of a visit and made me an even bigger fan of the domaine.

By now it should not come as a surprise that we ended up at Le Mangevins again in the evening. As Vincent was aware that we had had plenty of domaine visits and tasted lots of Syrah he displayed great professionalism when he poured - without showing the label - us glasses of white wine for aperitif and to go with the entrée which was the most pretty dish with scallops as the main attraction. We are under no illusion that nailing a young Sancerre blind is a hard task but that is what we did and Vincent revealed the bottle to be one from Domaine Delaporte. Indeed just the right thing for a somewhat tired palate and really great with the scallops.

The main was just greatest piece of lamb I have ever had - perfectly cooked to a pink color and incredibly juicy and tender. There was quite a bit of pepper in the seasoning and because of that Vincent recommended we order something a bit more hefty. He suggested us a few bottles of Côte-Rôtie but as all were familiar (and a bit more modern/unspectacular than we would have preferred) to us he turned to Cornas. In the end we chose the 2012 Clape. Right after PnP it seemed a bit timid and light but only around 10 minutes were needed for the beast to come alive. Indeed the nose was all about the ‘sauvage’ character and rich, vivid blackberry fruit. On the palate it was not huge but the presence was incredible and the strongly gripping tannins really wonderful. The perfectly ripe fruit complemented the pepper in the dish very nicely and the tannins were not over-powering. Despite its youth it was actually drinking very nicely and no cheeses were needed for us to finish the bottle. Thus we opted for some desserts - even for those without a proper sweet tooth the desserts here are a safe bet. Only Valrhona chocolate is used in chocolate-y ones, however I was really ecstatic about my strawberry tartelette.

Next up: Condrieu wine and cheese fair

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I do not know how but for some reason we had missed the fact that May 1st is a public holiday also in France. As no winery would receive us we were short of options. Fortunately there was a Condrieu wine and cheese fair that day and as we were about to stay at Xavier Gerard’s house for two nights the conditions were optimal for us to indulge in cheese, wine and other agricultural products.

Despite the name the event does not currently feature the wines of Condrieu as heavily as one would hope. The wines that first come to mind when thinking of Condrieu are simply not represented there, not even Domaine Georges Vernay who is located only a couple of blocks away. Of the 15-20 producers many are not well known and some are actually not even from the area; there was one producer working with the Seyssuel appellation and one from as far away as Anjou! Clearly this is not the ideal situation but fortunately there is now a generational change taking place within the organizing team and according to Xavier the aim is certainly to bring back more famous growers in order to make the event more about what the area can offer in vinous terms.

We of course went straight to taste the cream of the crop, i.e. Xavier’s wines. His Côte-Rôtie is now well-known after being receiving huge scores from the Decanter magazine for the 2015 vintage and the wines having been picked up by Neal Rosenthal in the U.S. Additionally he produces a VdP Viognier (the first wine actually that he was making himself), a Condrieu, a VdP Gamay, a Saint-Joseph and of course now a tiny amount of Côte-Rôtie La Landonne. To generalize he aims for wines of freshness and elegance and indeed the common theme is drinkability. The Condrieu is far from the fat versions of the AOC with great drive and poise. The 2016 Saint-Joseph ‘Blanchard’, coming from the northern part of the appellation, is quite different from those from Mauves and around (this is more lighter, more fruity) but very accessible, linear and bright with gentle tannins. The Côte-Rôties from 2014 and 2015 offer a great comparison: the alcohol levels are 12,5 % and 14,5 %, respectively. The 2014 seems very approachable right now while the 2015 is a lot bigger and way more muscular. However it is all relative as even the 2015 is no beast generally speaking. Both wines are incredible values (28 and 30 € at the fair).

La Landonne 2013 is such a baby at this time that one is only tasting the potential. This is one for the long haul with its huge structure, considerable density and quite obvious oak. That being said it is only 400 bottles so there is unlikely to be many around when the wine reaches any kind of maturity. The price is very high compared to the straight CR but that is understandable - whether it is worth it is not something I would be able to assess at this point. Hopefully I will be able to say some time in the distant future!

Wine tasting/drinking always seems to make one hungry so after a couple of stands we decided to have a look at what is available outside the wine hall. The other main attraction of the fair is the local goat’s milk cheese rigotte. There were around 10 fromageries present and all the ones we tasted were really, really delicious, whether grilled or not. The pairing with a local biére blanche was very nice, although Condrieu has proven to work well also. The atmosphere at the fair was really great, lots of children (and dogs) everywhere despite alcohol being poured on every other stand. Not in Scandinavia, is all I can say.

There was also a “how to make Comté” presentation…

…a lot of people eating snails, including ourselves…

…and this, a large, steaming pot of andouillette. If you dislike the smell on your plate, this is not a place you want to be near to.

Among producers not very familiar to us there was this one carrying the famous name of Verset. Indeed this is now I believe the first vintage where the new generation is mentioned on the label and Emmanuelle Verset was present to promote the wine (yes, one). Being a 2016 it was perhaps not the easiest of wines to taste (due to the age, not so much the particular vintage) but to me it seemed fairly promising in a meaty and powerful yet still well behaved way. It remains to be seen how it ends up but at 26 € a bottle I am totally willing to give it a chance.

The very last stand offered a real déjà-vu as the man behind it reminded me strongly of Bernard Burgaud as the stereotype of a veteran vigneron who has spent all his years in the vineyards and does not care for sales pitches or showmanship because he knows the wines will do the talking. It could also be because he most likely does not speak any English but that is neither here or there. In any case the wines of Gérard Courbis (from Mauves) are exactly what you would expect by seeing him and the really old-fashioned labels. Pretty much as traditional and rustic as it gets but for my palate they were quite enjoyable while affordable to say the least (Saint-Joseph Tradition 14 €, Cornas 22 €). For their two Saint-Josephs they had both 2014s and 2015s but once again I preferred the more classic vintage.

Apparently this furry fella did not enjoy Aurélien Chatagnier’s stand as much as its human companions.

As it is the vinous part of the fair is probably not something to make wine lovers travel a long way for but it will be interesting to see whether in the future more well-known names like Vernay, Perret and Cuilleron will take part. However for anyone in the area or nearby it is definitely good fun for a couple of hours and to cap it off at least this time there was a jolly Savoyard dude presenting a range of Génépi and similar drinks, which we took full advantage of.

Next up: more winery visits

A fascinating report.

And these two anecdotes are classics. I’m sure anyone traveling extensively in French wine country has experienced something similar.

Awesome report! The dog’s look at the end was very suspicious of everyone. Ha ha.

Thanks for the note on the 13 gerard la la! Haven’t seen one yet and super tempted to open one. Will hold off

Great report, thanks!

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Fantastic report. I felt like I was there with you. Wish I was!! Looking forward to more.

Great post and pics. Making me pine to go back!

Thanks for the kind words, I am happy you guys have enjoyed it. Apparently it was the right decision to move the thread from the Travel Forum where exactly one person seemed to have found it. Regarding William’s comments the first one was nothing new for me but the second one was quite unlike any other wineshop visit before.

Next morning was an easy one as we had an 11:00 appointment at Domaine Rostaing in Ampuis, only a few minutes from Condrieu by car. We had just managed to knock on the cellar door when René Rostaing himself approached as from behind and introduced himself with a friendly smile on his face. We followed him through the door and got right into tasting mode. Despite there being one white on the table we actually started with a red - from Languedoc! It was the 2014 Puech Noble which comes from the Coteaux du Languedoc near Nîmes, so right next to the Southern Rhône limits. One might not care for a wine from Languedoc when at one of the premier producers of the Northern Rhône but this one actually turned out to be a very good wine in its own right. The fruit on the nose is sweet almost to the point of being liqueur-like but there is also a great tangy edge to it an I liked it way more than I had expected. It is well balanced and moderately proportioned on the palate with good acidity - what’s not to like?

Next up was the 2015 Côte-Rôtie Ampodium (half bottle) and while I had never had a Rostaing wine before this is actually something I had already in my cellar. At this point I had grown to expect certain things from the 2015s and thus was quite surprised how classic a CR this wine is. Not light, not restrained but nothing really screaming warm vintage either. I think all the pieces are there for this to develop well in the cellar - really happy to have some!

Then René opened a bottle of the 2015 La Landonne and we were really prepared to find a true powerhouse of a wine. Wrong again. This wine is as elegant as it gets - bright, detailed and articulate with nothing brute or oversized about it. Sure it has tannins but already now they felt really silky. The acidity is just beautiful. Now it could be that after some time open a more powerful wine will emerge but unfortunately that is something we did not get to experience. Too bad my wallet does not agree with the price, although I think the quality is there.

Next we got to experience something not quite as infant when René poured the Côte-Rôtie Ampodium from 2011. Perhaps not something to really compare with the 2015 due to very different vintage conditions but holy hell, this was again a really superlative wine at a phase where it already delivers a whole lot more aromatically. Quite sauvage on the nose with floral and meaty notes along with the really attractive red fruits. Medium-bodied with great acidity, so so savory. Again a really elegant wine, which was clearly the recurring theme chez Rostaing.

Finally we tasted the 2015 Viognier Les Lézardes. It comes from a plot just outside Condrieu limits with quite old vines. Fragrant and fruity with moderate alcohol and solid acidity. Not a grand wine but then again it is not priced at such. Quite refreshing, which I guess is why René wanted to finish the tasting with it.

A forumite had written earlier about being less than satisfied with their visit to Rostaing. I am happy to say that our visit was quite contradictory as René was super nice to us, a true gentleman really, and the wines certainly lived up to our expectations. He had no CRs to sell but we both happily bought a bottle each of the Puech Noble as despite its cheap price it is definitely a wine we would happily drink for example at the next barbecue.

After Rostaing it was time to return to the south and as the visit had not been too long we had plenty of time for lunch before the next one. This time the place was called Assemblage, located close to the wine shop in Tournon that still haunted our minds. The waitress had recently moved from Argentina and is married to the chef. She was very kind and attentive from the get-go and reading the situation correctly very quickly offered to show the wine cellar to us. The cave could be seen through a window next to our table so it is indeed something that got our attention right away. Even while it is not a huge cellar it is of course always interesting to see what a restaurant is stocking as not everything is always on the list. In addition to wine they were also ageing ham and duck breasts (!) in the cellar.

The lunch menu is ridiculously cheap so we ordered the starters and the mains. The cooking is quite fresh and refined and the by the glass choices support it well. With a very modern interpretation of eggplant parmigiana we had the 2016 Saint-Joseph Blanc from Guy Farge. Despite the label it turned out to be a nice drink - I would say at the lighter end of the spectrum with fairly mellow aromatics. For the main we had some kind of fowl and we just could not resist to urge to order glasses of the cheapest red on the list, the 2017 Beaujolais-Villages Tentation from Jean-Claude Lapalu. While not as awesome as the 2014 that I really loved it was nevertheless a lot of fun and a good pairing with the food. I could definitely see coming here for dinner as well.

The weather mostly sucked for the duration of our trip but after lunch it was somewhat sunny and I even managed to take a photo of the Hermitage hill (or at least part of the whole).

When we first visited Le Mangevins last year the first thing we drank there and the first thing Vincent introduced to us was the Saint-Péray from Julien Cécillon. This year we really wanted to visit this domaine of the nephew of Jean-Louis Grippat and indeed they responded very quickly to our email, kindly welcoming us. The winery is not a fancy one, more like a warehouse located in an industrial zone. There is not proper lighting in the barrel room, which is why they actually had candles there. None of this of course matters one bit, as Julien and his wife Nancy (from Texas) are some of the nicest people you will ever meet and they make some really good wines. While Julien is the youngest in a long line of winemakers in his family there was a turning point when his uncle sold off the domaine to Guigal in 2001. Therefore he and Nancy have started from zero (in 2011) and as such it is still early days for them.

Pictured are the two best wines in their production right now. Crozes-Hermitage Les Marguerites is the one you are more likely to come across and if you do I highly recommend you to give it a go. In general I do not have that high expectations for wines from this appellation but this one knocked my socks off. It comes from a single plot of 80-year old vines very near the Hermitage appellation that they have only owned for a while. The previous owner had farmed it conventionally and not much was living between the vines when they got it into their possession. Now after several years of organic farming the plot is slowly coming back to life but I have to say that at least in this vintage the results are already quite convincing. This is a very dark-fruited Crozes with serious concentration and structure and plenty of black pepper. Besides Graillot’s La Guiraude I do not know of many wines from this appellation that achieve this level of complexity and interest. Pierre Aiguille comes from a selection of vines from the same plot, aged for 26 months in a barrel. It is aromatically less open at this point with huge density. While Les Marguerites is incredibly charming already this one really demands time.

In addition to these two and the aforementioned Saint-Péray the couple produces two VdP Syrahs, a Saint-Joseph, a Viognier, a Gamay and very soon a Cornas. My note for the the Saint-Joseph can be found here on WB but overall the quality is really uniform for this domaine. I definitely look forward to the release of the Cornas and how especially the Crozes-Hermitages will develop in the cellar. I would be surprised if this domaine did not become well-known in the future.

Next up: more wine

This is one of the best posts of the year! Thank you for sharing.

Love travel reports like this. They let me imagine that one day, my kids will be old enough to leave and I’ll have enough money to go. :wink: Great notes and photos!

Wow, I guess it’s been a slow year thus far [thankyou.gif]

Let’s hope that dream will come to fruition one day! My partner in crime actually has a 3-year old and another on its way but on the other hand when you live in Europe a trip like this does not cost much (except for the excessive wine buying perhaps) nor take too much time.

Beautiful report. Loved reading it

Thanks. Enjoyed the photos and the read.

Great report!

Really great post. Can’t wait to visit in October. Any suggestions on hotels in the area?

This time we stayed at Studio Viarhona. Not the prettiest place, but it was cheap and close to Tain l’Hermitage center. I’ve stayed before at Le Castel, which was also OK. Over there I don’t really prefer fancy hotels, because you basically only sleep and shower there. Also breakfast is much betterand cheaper when you pick up yourself from the boulangerie.

I have also stayed at Domaine Barge’s B&B in Ampuis. Not the cheapest one, but it’s lovely over there. And the view is amazing. It is located just next door from Le Bistrot à Vin de Serine and their cellar door.

Thanks for the tips!

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Where were you when I needed you? LOL! Rostaing visit looked awesome; his wines were one of my first “discoveries” over here.