Southern Rhone Wine Tasting at Café Maxx

“Like a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, I’m fine like wine when I start to rap”

Body Movin’ by Beastie Boys

They have had some incredible vintages the last few years in the Southern Rhone.  If we start with the 2007 vintage- this could very well be one of the greatest vintages of all time for the Rhone Valley. If you follow the venerable Robert Parker Jr. you have heard that it is the best vintage he has ever tasted in his 30+ years of traveling to this region.

Although the 2008 vintage is getting very little attention from collectors, it is a very nice vintage to drink while you are waiting for the 2007's to mature in your cellar. Also many of the top producers did not make their most prestigious bottling in 2008, so all these grapes went into their other cuvees. At a cheaper price than 2007 the 2008 vintage is an excellent value.

Then, there is the epic 2009 and 2010 vintages. These two vintages were amazing all over France and although they are very different in style they both will go down in the annals of Rhone wine history as two of the top vintages in modern times for different reasons. The 2009's feature gorgeous forward fruit and incredible concentration and depth of flavors. The 2010 vintage is a classic year and could surpass even the highly touted 2007's as one of the longest lived wines in the history of this storied wine region.

Finally the newly released 2011 which also looks like another incredible vintage but much more forward and charming in style, just as showy as 2009 but not as concentrated and age worthy but these wines are great choices to drink today as you wait for the 2007, 2009 and 2010 vintages to mature in your cellar.

These Wednesday tastings are some of the best values of any event that we do anywhere.  We are pouring 8 wines from Cotes du Rhone to Chateauneuf du Pape and Chef Oliver Saucy will be sending out a few small courses to accompany the tasting wines. The fee for this tasting is $35 + tax, for reservations call 954-782-0606.

Southern Rhone Wine Tasting at Cafe MaxxWednesday, June 5, 20136:30 PM

Michel Gassier “Cercius” Costieres de Nimes Blanc 2011     Price: $15.00      Sale $13.20          Case $153

(87 Points)  "The 2011 Cercius Blanc, a collective effort from an impressive trio consisting of Michel Gassier (from the Costieres de Nimes), Philippe Cambie (the brilliant oenologist from the southern Rhone), and Eric Solomon (the importer whose values are herein profiled), is a blend of 70% Grenache Blanc and 30% Sauvignon Blanc aged on its lees in concrete tanks. Only entitled to a Vin de France appellation, it offers abundant notes of lime juice, crushed rocks, spring flowers and a hint of pineapple juice. Medium-bodied, elegant, dry and vibrant, it can be enjoyed over the next year."  The Wine Advocate

Monpertuis Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2010    Price: $43.00       Sale $37.84          Case $439

It accounts for 20% of the Monpertuis total production, which makes our estate one of the biggest producers of white Châteauneuf du Pape.  A range of several vintages is available since they have remarkable ageing potential (mostly the coldest years)  They are rare , elegant wines of pale yellow shaded with green. They release the most delicate flower fragrances and possess perfect balance and freshness.  Altogether soft and vigorous they will delight the most demanding palates. After several years of ageing they give off notes of grilled hazelnuts and nougat.  A blend of: Clairette blanche 30%, clairette rose 20%, Grenache blanc 20%, bourboulenc 20% and roussane 10%.

Pesquie “Quintessence” Cotes du Ventoux 2010    Price: $24.00      Sale $21.12          Case $245

Paul and Edith Chaudière started this cuvée in 1990 and chose the name "Quintessence" to highlight the concentration of these wine essentially made of Syrah and the careful selection of most of the best plots of the estate. Indeed, such a name implies extreme rigor, and not every vintage can achieve a Quintessence! For the vintage 2008, we have divided of 50% the vintage we had made in 2007. Facing south at an altitude of 230 to 260 meters, the vineyard has a clay and limestone soil with a top layer of sand and pebbles.   This wine is a blend of 80 % Syrah and 20 % Grenache selected from quite old vines (40-50 years as an average).

Domaine La Garrigue "La Cantarelle" Vacqueyras 2010    Price: $30.00      Sale $26.40          Case $306

(93 Points)  A blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah from 80- to 100-year-old vines (aged in both tank and small oak), the 2010 Vacqueyras La Cantarelle is extremely full-bodied as well as massively concentrated. It boasts an inky/purple color in addition to copious graphite, blackberry, cassis, licorice, floral and incense characteristics. Textured and expansive, this brilliant 2010 will provide immense pleasure over the next decade or more.

One of the most respected estates in Vacqueyras, Domaine La Garrigue owns over 150 acres (the Bernard family actually owns nearly 200 acres throughout the southern Rhone) from which they produce traditional Vacqueyras. The American importer, Eric Solomon, persuaded proprietor Maxime Bernard to bottle his cuvees meant for the USA market slightly earlier than normal as well as without filtration. Domaine La Garrigue has about 10 acres in Gigondas from which they produce 300+ cases from 60-year-old vines planted in chalky clay and stony soils. The blend tends to be about 75% Grenache and the rest mostly Syrah with a touch of Cinsault, and everything is aged in concrete vats.  Wine Advocate #203, Oct 2012

Gour de Chaule Gigondas Cuvee Tradition 2009  Price: $34.00      Sale $29.92          Case $347

(92-93 Points)  (80% grenache, the rest mourvedre and syrah):  Bright ruby.  Raspberry and cherry on the complex lavender- and spice-accented nose.  Deep in red and dark berry flavor but energetic and precise, with exotic star anise and white pepper qualities building on the back half.  Gains weight with air and finishes with impressive energy, focus and length.  I suspect that this wine, which was not yet bottled when I tasted it in November, will age effortlessly.  International Wine Cellar , January 2012

La Colliere Rasteau 2009    Price: $22.50       Sale $19.80          Case $230

(93 points)  "The mind-blowing 2009 Rasteau La Fontaine is composed of 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvedre from a parcel of organically farmed, 50-year-old vines planted in clay soils. Aged completely in concrete, this full-bodied, opaque purple-colored wine exhibits an extraordinary perfume of black cherry liqueur, blackberries, scorched earth, pepper, and lavender. Phenomenally intense and full-bodied with terrific texture as well as a chewy, luscious, succulent mouthfeel, it should drink effortlessly for 5-6 years. Amazing!I met proprietor Georges Perrot several years ago before he had an American importer, and he is one of the most talented owners in Rasteau. As the following two wines evidence, he has now hooked up with one of the better small niche importers in our country, Eric Solomon. The talented Philippe Cambie is the consultant at this estate." (08/10) The Wine Advocate

Domaine St. Cosme “Deux Albion” Cotes-du-Rhone Villages 2011   Price: $23.00       Sale $20.24          Case $235

The Cotes du Rhone is from the estate, Les deux Albions, it is made from vines which are classified  “Cotes du Rhone Villages”.  Year after year, the quality of deux Albions is never too far from the Classique Gigondas. These two wines are vinified on the same way: full clusters, indigenous yeasts, co-fermentation, long maceration. It gives them charm and complexity.

Roger Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape “Les Olivets” 2010   Price: $48.00       Sale $42.24          Case $490

(91 Points) The opaque ruby/purple-tinged 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Olivets may be the finest Les Olivets the Sabons have yet made. It possesses full-bodied power as well as lots of kirsch, Provencal herb, balsam wood and foresty notes in a long, rich, textured format that builds incrementally in the mouth, finishing with a lot of glycerin and fruit. This 2010 should easily last for 10-12+ years.  Wine Advocate #203, Oct 2012

The fee for this tasting is $35 + tax, for reservations call 954-782-0606.

A bit about the Southern Rhone:

At the generic level, the official AOC Côtes du Rhône region stretches 200 km from Vienne in the north to Avignon in the south and from the foothills of the Massif Central in the west to the fore-slopes of the Vaucluse and Luberon mountains east of the town of Orange. 171 communes in the French departments of Ardèche, Bouches du Rhône, Drôme, Gard, Loire, and Vaucluse are concerned with production from the 83,839 (2008) hectares of vineyard.

Southern Rhône appellations:

    Côtes du Vivarais AOC     Côtes du Rhône AOC     Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC     Côtes du Rhône Villages (named villages)     Coteaux du Tricastin AOC     Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC     Vacqueyras AOC     Rasteau AOC     Gigondas AOC     Beaumes de Venise AOC     Muscat de Beaumes de Venise AOC     Tavel AOC