Towards the end of our stay in Florence, we enjoyed a bottle of Agrios Syrah from Mormoraia. It was perfect for our light dinner of charcuterie, with medium body and mild, silky tannins. Acidity was right down the middle, and on top of it all, we found the price point very affordable.
For another of our dinners in Florence, we enjoyed a bottle of De’Ricci, from Cantine Storiche. This Vino Nobile di Montalcino had notes of wild berry, tobacco, clove and truffle aromas mingled with just the lightest hint of oak. Lean and linear, on the palate it offered dried cherry, orange zest, toast, oak-driven spice and roasted coffee bean alongside close-grained, but gentle tannins. We also found this wine very reasonably priced, which is always nice!
Lots of these Tuscan wines, especially Brunello and some of the more sophisticated Montepulcianos, are very, very expensive, so we often found ourselves buying only a glass to go along with lunch or dinner. That’s what we decided to do at Il Grifo Ristorante with this Brunello.
We found this Tuscan Sangiovese smooth and elegant, opening with alluring aromas of woodland berry, fragrant blue flower and wild herb. The bright linear palate was readily accessible, offering wild red cherry and baking spice set against lithe tannins and racy acidity.
While we didn’t drink any of Frederic’s Domaine des Fees this time, we have had it multiple times before. Frederic Meffre comes from a long and respected line of winemakers, and he’s related to one of our best friends in France, so we just want to help him get the word out.
Frederic’s estate is organic, and he produces rosé, Côtes du Rhône whites and reds, as well as those with Séguret and Sablet provenance and appelation. We love his wines, and so does Wine Advocate. Here’s a quote from Robert Parker:
“The newest cuvee is from a single estate, located just to the west of Lirac, called Domaine des Fees. Bottled separately, there are 1,000 cases for the US market and this blend of equal parts Grenache and Syrah, aged completely in concrete tanks, is stunning. Gorgeous notes of roasted meats, Provencal herbs, sweet black cherry liqueur, and licorice as well as spice jump from the glass of this dense, ruby/purple-tinged wine. Fresh, full-bodied and juicy, with a velvety texture, it is a beauty that would be best drunk over the next 3-4 years. Think of it as a Chateauneuf du Pape wearing a Cotes du Rhone mask.”
One of our dearest French friends told us that we absolutely must visit this site. I refer to it as a site, because it is way, way beyond “just” a winery. It is simply a stunning venue, high up in the hills even above the picturesque village of Crestet. You will note the blue-ish tree on the left side of the photo, which has been painted with copper sulfate, accounting for the color.
The vineyards are stunning, with 30 hectare (75 acre) planted predominantly with mature (25yr+) Grenache and (40yr+) Syrah. Over the last decade they have added smaller quantities of other traditional Rhône varietals such as Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, Clairette (whites) and are planting Mourvèdre (red) to complement our classic Rhône base. As to terroir, they are blessed with a confluence of natural factors. Being so far south, on the same latitude as Gigondas, they have more than 300 sunny days in the year. The fruit ripens deliciously and almost never suffers from rot. The vines enjoy regular exposure to the Mistral and other winds that assist in flavor concentration, but their hilly topography spares them from the full force. The altitude (550m/1600ft) gives the variation in temperature between day and night that is essential for fruit quality. Essentially, their grapes ripen more slowly with better flavor development, but the later harvest (up to 3 weeks after their neighbors in the lower elevations). This can make them prey to the weather, but it can often work to their advantage.
Before the winery was built, they spent several years with renowned advisers visiting some of the most impressive wineries in the world and studying their equipment and layout. They then designed and equipped the winery specifically for small batches, hand-crafted high quality winemaking. Their determination is to ensure meticulous nurturing of the grapes at every stage. They designed a building that moved the grapes and the wine through the gentle flow of gravity, without pumping, being insistent on not disrupting the landscape. 2006 was their first vintage.
The wines themselves were pricey, but spectacular. Chêne Bleu focuses on handmade wines of the utmost natural purity. They refer to them as “couture” wines to reflect their philosophy of dedication, atypical mineral soils, biodynamic practices, low yields and handpicking, through to double sorting in the winery and non-intrusive forward-thinking winemaking. Their belief is that this painstaking approach to winemaking combines the best elements of tradition, respect for nature, and qualitative practices. These costly processes are exacting and time-consuming, but they consider them essential to ensuring a wine of the highest quality.The Grenache/Syrah base of their Reds and Rosé is characteristic of the region. The mature vines yield rich, delicious fruit, but they have also planted small quantities of other local varietals to “season” the blends with their own touch. Their whites are unusually crisp for the region because of the altitude (500m-1600ft), which allows for slow maturation and heat control.
Thematically running through all of their wines are concentrated fruit aromas and rich meaty texture from the southern sun, freshness and acidity from the higher altitude, and a complex basalt-based mineral structure from their unique geology. This combination helps them achieve balance and finesse, as well as a persistent finish.
If you visit the southern Rhône, you absolutely must visit this place.
The tiny village of Villedieu has the most delightful little cafe, and as with most French villages, a lovely outdoor area to sit and sip a glass of wine, or un petit cafe. I was in the mood for a glass of white wine, and when I was informed as to what it was by the charming and cheerful young woman at the bar, I was surprised to hear that it was Chardonnay! In Rhone country! But it was crisp and tasty, and Susan and I settled in for a bit of people-watching, which seems to be the national past-time.
We had this “Tentation de Rodolf” Cotes du Rhone wine for our wonderful, memorable lunch on our 20th anniversary, at Le Table Gourmande Le Mogador, between Sablet and Violes. What a magnificent experience, with our gracious hostess Dominique. We loved this wine so much that we came back the next day and bought two more bottles.
Bottled by Le Domaine des Favards, this wine was a beautiful deep purple color, expressing black fruit, notes of spice, vanilla and chocolate, with just a hint of oak. Rich, elegant and creamy on the palate, with silky tannins. Finish is full, round, and lasting.
If you have traveled to the south of France, you will recognize the distinctive shape of these wine glasses. They are the “native” wine glasses of the Rhone, and in particular, Chateauneuf du Pape, considered the “Roi”, or “King” of the Rhone appellations. I have searched for these wine glasses for years, and have never found anything remotely like them. When we were in Chateauneuf du Pape having lunch this past Spring, I decided to ask our waiter if there was a name for the “forme”, or the shape, of these wine glasses.
He walked to a cabinet and handed me one of the boxes they came in, from Chef & Sommelier (you’ll see it pictured above). They are actually called the “Open Up Pro Tasting” glass, and the ones we had at lunch were the 32cl variety (10.75oz). As soon as I returned to the states, I went to Amazon (I mean, where else?) and bingo, I found them. They shipped all the way from Belgium, and were a little pricey, but it was worth it to have landed a few of these iconic vessels.
Sante!
Here’s my entry to kick off a couple of months of wine exploration, where we’ll experience lots of French wines, as well as a few Italian ones thrown in towards the end. We spent an entire month based in a little “gite” (or rental cottage), literally in the middle of hectares of vineyards, and just on the outskirts of Vaison-la-Romaine in southern France, which I’ll write more about in another post.
When you end up renting a place based on some thumbnail photos and a flowery description on a website, the reality doesn’t always live up to the expectations. But without a doubt, this one exceeded the advance billing. Appropriately named “Le Cinsault”, this little gite was delightful. Small and cozy, but well-equipped, we enjoyed every minute here, from sitting inside watching the rain and wind, to warm days on the patio. Accessed via half a kilometer of gravel road, our most common visitors were the vineyard tractors, which at this point of the season were doing weekly vine maintenance.
One of the best features was the view from the hill immediately behind. A short stroll up the path gave a stunning view of Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, with it’s white top and tower at the peak easily visible. Anyone who follows the Tour de France has seen epic stages that finish at the top of this 6000-foot peak. Shifting your gaze to the right, the medieval village and chateau were clearly visible on their rocky hilltop. The chateau at the top of the old village is mostly in ruins but is still worth a rough scramble up to the perimeter if only for the view.
As the season progressed and the vines matured, we were treated on each sunny late afternoon to a backlit show of the young vines’ leaves. It reminded me of the hundreds of lighters held aloft in anticipation of a concert performance encore.
Having just read an article about how the future of Oregon wine wasn’t Pinot Noir, I found this to be an appropriate segue from Bourgogne to the Rhône. This Oregon red wine was 56% Grenache, 43% Syrah, and 1% Viogner, from two different regions. 77% of the grapes came from the Sundown Vineyard in the Rogue Valley, and the rest from the Deux Vert Vineyard in the Willamette Valley.
Francis Tannahill wines are part of the Rex Hill family, founded in 2001 by Cheryl Francis and Sam Tannahill.
This wine had nice structure, with the Grenache asserting itself beyond the other varieties, as one would expect. Very light notes of spice and black pepper added complexity, and what tasted like a predominantly neutral oak treatment left soft tannins and a smooth finish.
