Walk into any good wine shop and ask the merchant about his best value in French wines. The answer invariably will be ”southern Rhone valley.”
From simple Cotes-du-Rhones to powerful and complex Chateauneuf-du-Papes, the rich and red Grenache-grape based wines of this part of southeastern France offer good value for the dollar. For hearty stews, roasts, powerful cheeses or just hamburgers with all the trimmings, Rhone wines are apropos.
For years, Rhones have had a lower profile, and hence have been less in demand, making prices for most of them artificially low. So, knowing that Rhone wines are perfect cold-weather meal mates and that holiday shopping may not leave much in the wallet for wine, The Tribune recently assembled a tasting panel to evaluate some of the valley`s best offerings.
The time is right. After generations in the shade of Bordeaux and Burgundy, the Rhone valley is being ”discovered.”
”It`s Parker,” says Howard Silverman, a wine buyer for Sam`s Wine Warehouse. He credits Robert Parker, author of the influential newsletter
” The Wine Advocate,” with uncovering the Rhones. Others point the finger at the Wine Spectator, an industry tabloid. When these two publications tout a wine, prices go up.
It`s not that the Rhone producers, after years of going unnoticed, don`t deserve every dime they can get. Their wines combine the fragrance of the pinot noir-based wines of Burgundy with the chewy, mouth-filling character of the cabernet and merlot-based wines of Bordeaux. Fewer bargain wines
It`s just that the fabulous Cote-Roties of Guigal and the classic Chateauneuf-du-Papes of Chateau Rayas could be bought for less than $15 a bottle five years ago, but now cost $60, $70 or more-prices equivalent to Bordeaux and Burgundy greats like Latour and Romanee-Conti. From now on, it will be more and more difficult to find a bargain wine from the area.
Difficult, but not impossible. The Rhone produces 75 million gallons of wine a year, and only a fraction travels under the most famous names at infamous prices. There`s plenty of very good Rhone wine out there if you know what to look for.
A good general rule is to look for labels that bear the words ”Cotes-du- Rhone-Villages.” These are wines that are closer in price to the simple wines nearer in quality to the powerhouse wines found in the valley of the Rhone River.
The river begins its 500-mile journey as a trickle, spawned in a mile-high glacier in the Bernese Alps of southern Switzerland. From Geneva, it pushes its way westward to Lyon and then heads due south to the Mediterranean, still descending and still cutting into the eastern fringes of France`s Massif Central.
All along its path grow vines. Those from its cooler, Swiss reaches yield pleasant, relatively light-bodied fondue-partners for skiers. But those from its warmer French half-especially from vineyards around the ancient town of Avignon-yield the fullest-bodied, most flavorful wines, thanks to the heat
(they are not called vins du soleil, ”wines of the sun,” for nothing).
The warmth boosts grape sugar and, hence, wine alcohol. The mistral, an express-train wind, parches the vines daily and concentrates character. And the deep-seated traditions of the men and women who make these wines combine with nature`s work to yield perfect cold-weather beverages.
The basic wine of the region is labeled simply Cotes-du-Rhone. The growers of 163 villages turn out 50 million gallons of this strong, simple red wine every year. In style, it`s something like a heavyweight Beaujolais:
fruity but full, drinkable upon release but capable of developing for another year or two. Since the Chicago area carries more than 50 Cotes-du-Rhones, finding one is not an arduous search.
The designations get more interesting, however. As is the case with all of France`s wine regions, some villages turn out more complex wine than others. These villages usually turn out more interesting, more long-lived wines, perhaps because of a more favored position on a slope, or cote; better drainage; or more protection from the undesirable effects of the mistral. Village wine producers
Of the 163 villages, 74 are so blessed. While it may not seem like a big deal to the average American wine buyer, producers of wines from these 74 villages are allowed by French law to use the name ”Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages” on their labels. (A few of these villages even have the right to use their own name. For instance, wine solely from the village of Cairanne can be labeled Cotes-du-Rhone-Cairanne.) Wines so labeled rank about midway in quality and longevity between the simple Cotes-du-Rhones and the more famous red wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Lirac and other locales.
Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages wines are based on the predominant local grape variety, the grenache, which is the major grape in the blend of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It gives power to a wine as well as a tangy, vaguely citrus edge. Competent winemakers, when blending Grenache with other local varieties-especially Mourvedre, Syrah and Cinsault-will achieve harmony and
complexity as well.
At The Tribune`s tasting, we tasted 26 wines in two categories. The first was composed of 16 Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages wines. The second comprised 10 red wines from the Cotes-du-Ventoux and Cotes-du-Luberon, as well as some related ”country wines” from the region. All were placed in paper bags to conceal the identities and were tasted without decanting at cool room temperature
(about 65 degrees).
Panelists scored the wines on a point system, rating them from 1 (worst)
to 20 (best), and the points were tallied and averaged. The accompanying chart shows the averages and rankings of the top wines.
The three top-scoring Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages could be considered to be in a tie statistically. The ”Reserve des Voconces” is a very well made, rich and flavorful wine-”highly intense (odors),” ”good Rhone power,” tasters said. But it was controversial in the sense that, although it was aged in large, inert oak casks-and therefore not expected to have much wood flavor-it displayed distinctive oaky features. Rhone-wine expert Robert W. Mayberry, author of ”Wines of the Rhone Valley” (Rowman & Littlefield, $29.95), says the Grenache grape itself exhibits these oaky flavors. Surprises in tasting
The ”Chateau du Trignon” was more typical: ”full,” ”tart,” ” black cherries,” ”great fruit extract,” ”perfect balance” and ”nice long fruity finish” were among the comments. The ”Domaine Les Goubert” elicited remarks from ”full, candy/raspberry nose” and ”stuffed with flavor” to
”good wine, nice wine.”
The fourth-ranked wine-and this writer`s favorite-was the Rasteau from Rabasse-Charavin: ”very full, typical force, pomegranate-like fruit, pleasantly tannic,” the panelists said. All four wines would benefit from another year in the bottle.
To make the Rhone tasting more interesting, we selected some other neglected grenache-based wines of the region: Cotes-du-Ventoux and Cotes-du-Luberon. The first comes from the hills east of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the second from the benchland on the north side of the river Durance, which flows into the Rhone at Avignon. Finally, we threw in three ”country wines” of the region. On paper, these wines should not be fit to occupy the same table with the rest-but, as the tasting showed, there are always surprises in the wine world.
As a group, the country wines were lighter and readier to drink than the Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages wines. Again, the three top-scoring wines were close enough to be considered in a tie. The Chateau de L`Isolette drew remarks like ”pleasant blackberry-cherry scents,” ”very well-balanced,” ” young and promising” and ”long sweet finish.” The Domaine de la Vieux Chene was considered ”spicy,” ”raspberry-fruity” and ”well-structured.” And tasters thought the La Vieille Ferme to be ”plummy,” ”earthy,” ” round” and ”very full-bodied.”
RHONE WINNERS
In a Rhone tasting conducted by The Tribune, the top three wines in each of two categories were as follows: Cotes-du-Rhone villages:
1. Cairanne ”Re serve des Voconces,” 1985, $8.50.
2. Sablet ”Cha teau du” Trignon, 1986, $8.
3. Beaumes-de-Venise ”Domaine Les Goubert,” 1985, $9.
Other Rhones:
1. Cotes-du-Luberon ”Ch. de L`Isolette” Cuvee Prestige, 1985, $8.
2. Vin du Pays du Vaucluse ”Domaine de la Vieux Chene,” 1986, $4.50.
3. Cotes-du-Ventoux, 1985, $5.
COTES-DU-RHONE VILLAGES
Year Wine Producer Pts./20 Price
1985 Cairanne ”Reserve
des Voconces” Cave des Coteaux a Cairanne 15.85 $8.50
1986 Sablet
”Chateau du Trignon” Charles Roux et Fils 15.69 8.00
1985 Beaumes-de-Venise
”Domaine Les Goubert”(4) Jean-Pierre Cartier 15.46 9.00
1985 Rasteau ”Domaine
Rabasse-Charavin”(2) Corinne Couturier 14.71 10.00
1985 Villages
”Domaine Durieu” Paul Durieu 14.56 7.00
1985 Vacqueyras ”Ch. des
Roques” Cuvee Neron Etienne Dusset 14.35 8.00
1985 Vacqueyras Paul Jaboulet Aine 14.15 7.50
1985 Cairanne ”Coteaux
des travers”(1) Domaine Daniel Bruset 13.90 6.00
1986 Cairanne ”Domaine
dela Presidente”(5) Max Aubert 13.85 6.00
1985 Sablet ”Domaine
de Oiaugier”(2) Marc Autran et Fils 13.77 9.00
1986 Vacqueyras Deals Freres 13.77 7.00
1986 Villages Jean Bedin 13.56 6.00
1986 Vacqueyras ”Ch. de
Montmirail” C.L`Ermite
1986 Cairanne ”Domaine
Rabasse-Charavin” Corinne Couturier 13.48 9.00
1985 Valreas
”Le Val du Rois” Romain Bouchard 11.48 7.00
1985 Beaumes-de-Venise
”Domaine Cassan”(1) Paul Croizet 9.00 5.00
Cotes-du-Ventoux, Cotes-du-Luberon and others.
1985 Cotes-du-Luberon
”Ch. de L`Isolette
Cuvee Prestige(1)” Luc Pinatel 14.92 $8.00
1986 Vin du Pays du Vaucluse
”Domaine de
la Vieux Chene” J-C & Dominique Bouche 14.62 4.50
1985 Cotes-du-Ventoux La Vielle Ferme 14.58 5.00
NV Vin de Table Francais
”La Sabonite” Clos Mont-Olivet 14.27 5.50
1985 Cotes-du-Ventoux Paul Jaboulet Aine 13.54 5.50
1986 Vin du Pays des
BoucheVentoux
”Les Dragonnes”(3) Thorin 13.10 5.00
1987 Cotes-du-Ventoux Jean Bedin 12.44 5.00
1986 Cotes-du-Luberon
”Chateau Val-Joannis”(4) Famille Chancel 12.10 5.00
Key: Wine found exclusively at (1) Sam`s Wine and Liquor, (2) Connoiseur Wines Ltd., (3) Zimmerman`s, (4) Gold Standard, (5) Willowbrook Foremost/DiCarlos Liquors.
