What are my options for learning more about this region’s wines in the U.S.? Wines that I can afford, that is. So take what you can afford and divide by 3. Not really talking about Cornas, Condrieu, or St. Joseph.
Thanks berserkers!
Chris
What’s your budget? Guigal is a very fine place to start…depending on your budget.
JD
Mmmm, Jamet…
CR is a really nice expression of Syrah, often pretty high in acid.
While you are at it, I have a real soft spot for the Allemand wines from Cornas.
Guigal’s probably a little rich for me right now. I assume we’re talking about the LaLa’s. Does Guigal own everything up there?
Chris
Chris,
What is your budget? I’m falling in love with cote roties, but have a hard time spending much more than 75 a bottle on any wine, luckily it’s decently easy with northern rhone syrah. Guigal’s entry level cote rotie (brune et blonde) is quite good. Jamet makes some nice wines, Jasmin too.
The trouble is that the wines really do seem to shine with some extra time in the bottle. I’ve had some luck finding 1999s still around in retail, and they’re drinking well enough right now. Everything I’ve had newer has felt like I was doing a disservice to the wine. 2004 in particular is very acidic (as a generalization) at the moment, though I do think these wines will end up coming around in a very nice way.
Also, why may I ask are you staying away from the other appellations? I’ve found each of the northern rhone areas to deliver some fun wines, and many at more affordable prices.
Guigal has a base wine called Brune et Blonde that hovers in the $50ish range.
Jamet (as Eric mentioned) is quite good and well priced, as is Jasmin. St. Cosme makes a great one in the $60ish range, and Ferraton has turned a corner (thanks to Michel Chapoutier). There are plenty of others, but these are widely available and can usually be found at discount too.
I’m very interested in this discussion too and have been thinking of seeking out some Jamet.
Could anyone offer impressions of the best recent vintages for drinking now and for cellaring? Both for Cote Rotie and for Cornas?
Many thanks in advance.
Entry level Guigal Cote Rotie is the Brun et Blonde. Generally under $75.
You’d want it with at least a few years bottle age I think.
In the last 20, you want to be looking for 90, 91, 94, 95, 97, 99, 01 and 05 (with 07 on the horizon).
00s on close out can be good buys for early drinking. Not many of those around any more.
My budget is definitely under $100/btl right now. I could learn about Burgundy (village level) for way less than that. I would have thought that there would be many great Syrah producers at less than extravagant prices. Perhaps not. Thanks for the suggestions and I’ll see what I can find.
I don’t have anything against the other appellations, I’m just trying to get a sense of Cote Rotie right now.
Cheers,
Chris
That’s interesting Ian. The vintage chart on eRMP suggests that 2006, 2003, and 1999 were the standouts in the last 10 years. How much confidence should I place in that chart (if any)?
Chris
I love CR-the Roasted Slope. Allowable Viognier up to 20%, though I know of no domain using that much. This distinguishes CR from Hermitage. The Viognier adds a floral component very unique to CR. There are basically 2 subsections of CR: Cote Brune & Cote Blonde. Many parcels exist within each, some familiar as in La Landonne get designated bottlings (Guigal, Rostaing, Gerin). La Mouline & La Turque are brands developed by Guigal.
There is no need to spend the $$ on the LaLas unless you have a lot of cash to burn. And although the prices have creeped up recently, you can still find great examples in the sub $70 range. My favorites include: Jamet, Ogier, JM Stephan, Jasmin, Burgaud, Bonnefond, Guigal’s B&B. Guigal’s Chateau D’Ampuis use to be affordable and is an amazing wine, but it’s now north of $100. If you ever find yourself with an opportunity to visit Ampuis (and Condrieu) do it. It was one of the many highlights of a trip in '02 for me. Luckily the '99 vintage was on release and I stocked up.
None Chris. Unless you match more closely with RP than most. I did like the 2003 Jamet, but… frankly those wines are just too young. IF you want to really learn about CR it’s a wine that needs 15 years to start revealing what it can do if it’s a wine from a great producer and a top vintage. So… don’t overlook ‘off’ vintages. I just did a few Chave Hermitages with friends last weekend and the 95 and 98 rocked… but could both use years more in bottle. The 94 and 97 were more open and ready to drink… but definitely didn’t have the potential of the 95 or 98 (or the 2000). However, off vintages like that in the hands of a great producer a) teach you a lot about the wines from that place and are often more approachable with less age and very very enjoyable.
From a few WS-Pro searches I’ve done, it doesn’t look like a lot of Cote Rotie makes it to the U.S. The UK seems to get a fair share though.
Chris
I’m scared of 2003, and that’s not just Northern Rhone. The wines are very young, and don’t show a lot of charm.
I listed 1999, you can’t not list 1999. Easily one of the best vintages on record. Again, the wines are young, although I had an amazing experience with 99 Chave last year.
2006 I don’t have enough of a snap shot of yet. I didn’t taste much while in the Northern Rhone in 2008 since everyone was so pumped out 05 and had high hopes for 2007.
The few I tried were nice, but paled in comparison.
Rick - I agree on the off vintage theory, though '03 is an avoid at all cost vintage. It’s neither off or on-but just a plain mess. The one time I tasted the '03 Jamet blind-I thought it was a Paso wine-not a good thing. YMMV. Have some '04 Ogier I p/u for a song-anyone had this yet?
Not a lot, if those are the standouts. Just follow the list of vintages that Ian gave. On the other hand I have to say I’ve never seen a vintage chart that I liked.
I like Cote-Rotie because it’s a bit like Burgundy… in the sense that it’s a minefield. There’s no way you can grab a random bottle and expect to like it. The styles (from producer to producer and sometimes from cuvée to cuvée) are really all over the map. I see people have given you lists with widely different styles: even though each producer is certainly a “good” one, I’d be surprised if you liked all of them–I sure don’t.
My personal fav is Jamet, regardless of points and hype I put it right at the top. For the sake of discussion I’ll put their style in the middle of the “style map”. I enjoy Jasmin, his style appeals to the Burg drinkers with light, elegant wines. Rostaing I like too, I’d say traditional with most wines being quite structured. Guigal is very good but never delivering enough for the price as far as I’m concerned, even at the entry level, same for Chapoutier. Ogier seemed like a typical victim of Parkerization to me, but I haven’t tried his wines in a while so that might have changed.
I also agree with others who have pointed out that age makes a significant difference, it’s even a pre-req to be honest. I’ve enjoyed some young wines, also because some vintages were particularly good when young (such as 99, still one of my favorite vintages ever), but generally speaking I like these wines with at least 5-8 years on them, it makes a huge difference because at that point you can really start to see what Cote-Rotie is all about with the classical red wine parts (fruit, tannins) + flowers (rose, violet) + very strong animal notes (bacon, blood). It’s really unique (and for me a clear testament to the existence of terroir, since I’ve never ever had any Syrah from anywhere else that tasted quite like it).
As a newcomer to the area I would advise you to avoid 2002 and 2003–for quite different reasons but simply put both are going to be very unrepresentative of what this AOC can deliver.
What about Eric Texier, who btw said he would not make Northern Rhone wines in 2003…?
His stuff seems well below the $75.00 mark and I think his work is vastly overlooked and under rated.
imo, i’d not start with young Cote-Rotie (say, anything after 2001). If you can find some good 1998s or 1999s, see how you llike those, but the best smaller growers, Jamet, Ogier, Jasmin, Gallet are difficult to find and not cheap (Generally, Cote-Rotie worth buying starts at least at $50+). try to find some Guigal B&B from the 80s or 90s. They’re usually available for around $100-$150 and hold up very nicely. That will at least give you a starting point.
I also highly recommend Livingstone-Learmonth’s “Wines of the Northern Rhone” – excellent resource and a must-have for fans of N. Rhone wines…
http://www.amazon.com/Wines-Northern-Rhône-John-Livingstone-Learmonth/dp/0520244338" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Chris- On a side note, you should check out Acker Auction and Winebid for some Guigal Cote Roties from 75 and earlier. KA has been kind enough to blind taste me and some others on these, and they are fantastic. Should be had for great prices too. These wines are prior to creation of the LaLas.