Vin Naturel at Domaine Gramenon, southern Côtes du Rhône, Michèle Aubéry-Laurent, son Maxime
RECENT TASTINGS
This section covers tastings other than precise domaine or estate verticals, and concentrates on older vintages. Descriptions in bold indicate recent postings.
LES VINS NATURELS
Wines that contain little or no sulphur dioxide, SO2, or sulphites (sulfites). Intellectually, I lean towards Les Vins Naturels. Let René-Jean Dard of the Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Dard & Ribo explain the terminology: "Japan started this. My ex-wife is Japanese, and we have always sold a lot of wine to Japan since 1996. They termed our organic wine "vin naturel" or "natural wine", and that was the first time we heard that title."
To read more about the leading Rhône domaines and their thinking in this field, please log in.
1976 & 1979 CONDRIEU, GEORGES VERNAY
Two magnificent old bottles of Condrieu, both made by the maestro and saviour of Condrieu, Georges Vernay, have been enjoyed in recent times. And "they" say Viognier cannot live, a notion I have always vehemently opposed. The 1976 was the Coteau de Vernon, the 1979 his regular cuvée. The former was drunk at the domaine in November, 2009, having been brought back to its original home by me from England. The latter featured at the end of the Ledbury Restaurant lunch on 25 June, 2008, when I served a wrapped up in tin foil 1979 Condrieu from Domaine Georges Vernay, a wine I had bought at issue from Yapp Brothers in England. To read more about these most unusual bottles, please log in.
1998 CHÂTEAUNEUF-du-PAPE REDS - after 10+ years
To find out impressions afetr 10+ years, and to recall how the harvest and summer of 1998 panned out, please log in.
M.CHAPOUTIER 2008 SINGLE PLOT REDS & WHITES
Tasted in London, courtesy of their importer Mentzendorff & Company, on 27 April, 2009. Please log in to read a report and the full notes.
TARDIEU-LAURENT
These high quality négociants, a mix of Rhône and Burgundy, have relied on access to prime old vine plots from very small growers since they started in 1994. In those days, the world paid more attention to the oaking, and the fact that it was mostly from the venerated Troncais forests of central France. An early supplier of top grade wine was Noel Verset at Cornas, for instance. The years have rumbled past, and there are times when I find these wines somewhat anachronistic: drinkers are often seeking fresher fruit and definition in their wines, while the issue of whether varieties such as the Grenache should be raised in oak, let alone new oak, still pertains. Some of the wines are right on the mark, though, and do not seem overly priced. A December 2008 tasting at the British importers, Corney & Barrow, revealed more about the latest vintages, the youngest of which was the 2004. Please log in to Tardieu-Laurent under the Cornas appellation.
2006 and 2007 PAUL JABOULET AINÉ
The latest from this important Rhône house, where I am troubled by the international, not Rhône, character in the wines following the purchase by the Swiss financier Jacques Frey. The 2006 and 2007 domaine wines (all those from their own vineyards only) were tasted in December chez Jaboulet. Please see the PJA entry under the Hermitage appellation heading.
2007 & 2008 TAVEL ROSÉA review of 25 Tavel wines from 2008, and a few good 2008 Lirac rosés, plus 29 Tavel wines from 2007. To read the report and which wines were tasted, please log in.
2003 CHÂTEAUNEUF-du-PAPE REDSA review of 2003 Châteauneuf-du-Papes was conducted at the village in mid-June 2008, when 15 Tradition wines were tasted, and 16 Prestige Cuvée wines. Please log in.
A review of 2000 Châteauneuf-du-Papes was conducted at the village in mid-June 2008.
8 Tradition wines were tasted, and 11 Prestige Cuvée wines. Please log in.