Final part of the Rhône series
My journey in the Southern Rhône comes to an end at Tavel and Lirac – two towns which are a mere six minutes from each other. There is always more to expound about the riches of the Rhône, such as the areas of Luberon, the Ventoux and the Vaucluse. Domaine Faverot, Domaine de la Citadelle and Domaine de Tara are producers I would recommend for those who are interested in getting a taste of the diversity of the South of South. The flavour profiles there remind me of the punchiness of South Australian wines. However, those finer details would be better-suited for a story in the future. My focus is on Tavel and Lirac. Read More >
Part 2 of the Rhône Series. 12,000 years ago, glaciers melted; ice and water were pushed down south; river rocks were deposited 20 km wide, and Châteaunuef-du-Pape was born. Read More >
An introduction. Part 1 of the series.
The Rhône has always been a subject of great fascination for me because of my love for Syrah and Grenache as grape varietals and also that the wines of the South has had a long history with ancient grape varieties that originated from the Middle-east. I can think of no other region in France that has such diversity in grape varieties and except maybe in Languedoc-Roussillon. Bordeaux may be well-known for its wines but the roots of winemaking originate from the Mediterranean. During the 18th and 19th century, Bordeaux used to blend wines from Hermitage with those in Bordeaux to give the wines more structure and riper aromas. Read More >
South Australian grenache is all you need on a winter’s evening. The only way to better it is to fly to Adelaide and drink it with an excellent meal.
With the shortest day of the year past and the winter monsoon bringing its unwelcome message from Siberia, the drinking mood has changed to cuddly reds.
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A supposedly second-division wine is finally earning the respect it deserves. Internationally relegated to quaffing status, the wine world is finally starting to give grenache the respect it deserves. I doubt that grenache devotees are that concerned. Sometimes it’s best not to say anything about a bargain.
But if we were issuing a tutorial on how excellent wines can be misjudged to create what might be called a mispricing opportunity – a bargain – it isn’t necessary to look much beyond the grenache variety.
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