Before we get into the specifics
of these wines, there is one simple fact
you're going to have to accept. While
California wines, for example, generally
tell you what's in the bottle (Chardonnay,
Cabernet, etc.), French wine labels generally
tell you where the wine is from and who
made it, not what is in the bottle. The
lesson? You need to approach French
wines from a geography angle. Learn
a bit (even just a little bit, I promise!)
about the areas and recognize the names
of a couple of winemakers, and then you'll
be able to buy and drink these wines with
confidence!
As
you can see from the map*, the Rhône Valley
follows the Rhône River and runs north-and-south
in the southeast quadrant of France. The
Rhône Valley produces the most diverse
selection of wines in the country, with
possibly the only common factor being
the intensity of flavor – a result
of the sunny, warm climate.
You could spend years –
and you should! – learning all the
different wines that come from this area.
But because we have to start somewhere,
and because the purpose of this series
is to give you a quick and easy start
to learning French wines, we’re going
to focus on Rhône Valley red wines that
are made predominately from Syrah
grapes. Why syrah? Because it’s one
of my favorites, that’s why!
I say "predominately"
from syrah grapes, because many, if not
most, of the Rhône Valley reds contain
some percentage of syrah, along with a
great variety of other grapes. However,
the wines we're going to cover are generally
50% or more syrah -- some as high as 100%!
Let's start with the grape.
Syrah is a very dark-colored grape suited
to warm climates and making rich, powerful
wine with a blackcurrant, spicy aroma
and concentrated berry fruit flavor. Keep
those basic flavors in mind as you’re
drinking these wines. You’ll soon
learn to identify them by taste as well
as label.
Syrah is the principal
grape in the Northern Rhône Valley, while
it is used more to add backbone in the
South, where the Grenache grape is the
star of the show. So, if your favorite
wine shop has sections for both the Northern
and Southern Rhône Valley, you’ll
want to head to the North.
The Northern Rhône wine
appellations (don't worry about this word
for right now -- just think "region")
we’re going to cover are: Cornas,
Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage,
and Saint-Joseph. See them on the map*?
A word about recent vintages:
It’s generally agreed that 1996 was
an outstanding year for these Northern
Rhone reds. ’97 suffered in comparison,
but wasn’t bad at all. 1998 is shaping
up to be much better, in some cases excellent
and perhaps even better than ‘96.
OKAY! Now to the wines!
.
The Hermitage appellation produces both
red and white wines. The red is made almost
exclusively from 100% Syrah. Technically,
up to 15% Marsanne may be added during
fermentation, although in practice these
white grapes are rarely used and never
exceed 5%. The red Hermitage should have
a huge color (deep purple, almost black
when bottled, maturing to a rich mahogany
with ruby glints), a pronounced aroma
of blackcurrants and spices and an assured
intensity of red and black berry flavors.
Good vintages should be
drunk at 10-20 years and even in lesser
vintages between 5 and 10. This is a manly
wine, but it should never be clumsy or
heavy.
($90). The 1997 version of this classic
wine suffers a bit from comparison with
the incredible elixir that was the 1996.
(Read: if you can find the 1996 still,
buy it instead!) But this is still a very
good wine. Ripe and juicy red raspberry
and intense black currant flavors dominate,
with an undercurrent of Syrah spiciness
that brings balance and finish. Pretty
darn good now, and should cellar for another
5-10 years.
($70). Here's an
example of an outstanding wine from an
iffy vintage. Take a whiff of the heady
chocolate, black currant, and spice aromas
and you'll want to take a bath in this
stuff. This is a richly textured, intensely
flavored Syrah. Cellar this baby for ten
or fifteen years and you will not believe
the results!
($90). This
Hermitage has a very appealing smoky wildness
that balances the bright red fruit flavors.
Smooth but firm tannins and a lingering
finish make it an all-around winner. This
wine should cellar for at least another
5 years, probably more.
.
Crozes-Hermitage also produces red and
white wines. However, with few exceptions,
a red Crozes-Hermitage cannot be compared
to a red Hermitage, although it comes
from the same Syrah grape. However these
are very good wines at a much more affordable
price. The color should be full, purple-red
when young, with an aroma of raspberries
and blackcurrants, a pleasantly fruity
flavor and some Syrah firmness in the
finish.
($35). This is one of those "few
exceptions." There is more oak on
the nose than you might have expected,
but this "old vines" wine opens
on the palette with plum, blackberry,
and black currant fruits. The deep dark
color is breathtaking. This wine should
cellar beautifully for ten years, or more,
but it is thoroughly enjoyable now (let
it breathe!).
($21). Pure Syrah flavors of blackberry
and raspberry are jazzed up with sultry
smoke and spice, and the result is pure
pleasure. Moderate tannins and a slightly
lingering finish round out the picture.
Great now.
($23). A personal
favorite producer of Crozes-Hermitage,
and this particular vintage is very good.
Loads of body, with a mineral note threaded
through the Syrah berry and spice. Stands
up quite well to hearty foods. Excellent
now.
.
Of all the Rhône Syrahs, Côte-Rôtie is
my clear cut favorite. A classic Côte-Rôtie
has a dark purple color when young, aging
to a deep mahogany, a markedly floral,
spicy bouquet and a rich, suave, complex
flavor and a lingering finish. Côte-Rôties
are made principally from the Syrah grape,
although up to 20% of Viognier grapes
may be added during fermentation to produce
a lighter, more aromatic wine.
Lighter vintages need 3-4
years more in the bottle to open up fully,
while bigger wines need 7-8, and can last
up to 20 years.
If you see the additional
designation "Côte Brune," the
wine is going to be an immense wine that
requires long aging. If you see the words
"Côte Blonde," the wine will
still be full-bodied, but gentle, smooth,
and ready to drink earlier (remember,
this is a relative term -- still give
these wines a good 5-10 years!)
($45). This is heaven
in a glass. The smooth spicy bouquet is
intoxicating. The black raspberry and
raisin flavors tango with smoke and game
and toast. The finish is exquisite. Love
this wine.
($68). Lovely Syrah.
Delicate and powerful at the same time,
this wine will entrance you. Smoky, earthy,
and meaty on the one hand. Bright, sweet
berry, and floral on the other hand. Extraordinary.
($40). This is a great example of a Côte
Blonde that is supple and elegant, but
still full-bodied. Very good layers of
fruit, including blackberry and plum,
with a toasty thing happening underneath.
Dense and rich in the mouth, but never
heavy, with a good finish.
.
Cornas is Syrah personified: very deep,
nearly black in color, with a rich, heady
aroma of concentrated fruit (blackcurrants,
raspberries, violets), finishing with
a vigorous, mouth-filling flavor. These
are full-bodied reds, sometimes rough
at first, but never heavy. They may be
drunk as early as age 3-4, but most classic
Cornas should be aged for 6-10 years,
or even more.
Cornas is typically made
in very limited quantities, so I tend
to have a slight "buy what I find"
attitude when shopping for this wine.
All in all, I've been pleased when I've
taken a chance on an unfamiliar (to me)
bottle.
($40). Well done Cornas
in a vintage year that suffers by comparison
to 1996. True classic French style winemaking
at work here. Sophisticated aromas are
earthy and ancient, giving way to ripe
red fruit and florals. Tannins are still
building, so give this one a few years
-- at least 5, if not 10.
($55).
The old vines seem to make an obvious
contribution here. This wine just tastes
like it knows more than the other wines.
Concentrated fruit, subtle oak, perfumed
florals, wizened tannins -- all combine
to make a high-brown wine. Traditional
in the best sense of the word.
.
The Syrah wine from the Saint-Joseph region
is pleasant and fruity and ready for relatively
early drinking (2-6 years). Raspberry-scented,
with a lovely purple color and blackcurrant
aroma, these wines have more immediate
fruit than Cornas or Hermitage, but maintain
a firm Syrah backbone.
In the grand Rhône/Syrah
scheme of things, Saint-Josephs tend to
be more daily-drinking (assuming your
daily drinking is in the $20s range) and
accessible wines than some of the others.
($29). Wonderful happy wine that may prompt
you to declare your dining companions
your "new best friends." This
is solve-the-problems-of-the-world-over-a-bottle-of-wine
wine. Great blackberry fruit and with
enough oak and spice to balance it. Firm
but smooth tannins and a solid finish.
Great stuff -- now and for years to come!
Okay! Let's see what you
learned!
Now you know five new wonderful
wine words: Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage,
Cornas, Côte-Rôtie, and Saint-Joseph.
You know that these wines are all from
the Northern Rhône Valley. You know they
are Syrah based wines. And you know that
the classic Syrah flavors include red
raspberry, blackberry, currant, spice,
and (sometimes) floral.
Now all you have to do is
start buying and drinking some of these
wonderful wines!
As always, we like to include
a little extra information for those of
you who want to really learn about French
wine and be able to throw around some
impressive terms.
AOC stands for . The AOC
system is a controls system run by the
French government. It sets standards for
things like area of grape production,
grape varieties permitted, alcohol degrees,
etc. This a slightly complicated system
and subject, and we’ll get more into
AOCs later, but for now just remember
this:
If you see AOC on a label,
then you know you’re dealing with
a wine that is made according to a particular
formula: a maximum of this, a minimum
level of that, and so on. The beauty of
the AOC system is that it is fairly reassuring
– if you don’t know anything
else about the producer of a bottle of
wine, but you know what goes into that
particular AOC, then you have a fair idea
of what to expect in the wine. The bad
part about the AOC system is that there
are about a kabillion AOC designations
out there, and it can be pretty confusing
for a novice.
At this point, just get
used to seeing AOC or Appellation d’Origine
Contrôlée on labels. It will be there
right along with the name of the origin
of the wine (like "Crozes-Hermitage")
that has been given the AOC designation.
*We found this great
map on Strat's Place -- a community website
celebrating Wine, Gardening, and the Arts.
Check it out at www.stratsplace.com.
