Super Rhone Tasting at Wine Watch

Friday, October 14, 2016 - 07:00 PM

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Okay we poppin champagne like we won a championship game
- Popping Bottles by Lil Wayne and Birdman 


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You may think that we are celebrating something next week with three “Once in a Lifetime” tastings in a row but that is just how we roll here at Wine Watch.  Life is short we dodged a bullet with Matthew and now it’s time to get back to the serious business of drinking the world’s greatest wines like these KILLER Rhone Valley wines scheduled to go down Friday, October 14th.

The wines of the Rhone Valley are some of the most famous in all of France.  The wines of the Southern Rhone Valley starting north of the town of Avignon with the new house of the Pope "Chateauneuf du Pape" whose wines are based on the Grenache varietal but usually contain several other grapes five of which are white! 

This region has a lot of great producers and we have three of the best on the table tonight representing Chateauneuf Du Pape.  We have one of the cult wines of this region which is 100% Grenache, Chateau Rayas from the outstanding 1989 vintage.  Chateau Beaucastel is a much larger operation and they are famous for using all 13 varietals in their blend each year.  Domaine Du Pegau is also one of the leading estates and we have three excellent vintages representing the South this evening.

The wines of the Northern Rhone are very different from the South as Syrah is the star of the show here.  The wines of Cote Rotie and Hermitage are rare in that the regions are fairly small and the top wines are made in minute quantities like Guigal's La La wines made from three of the top vineyard sites of the Cote Rotie region.  Tonight we have the famous La Landonne from one of the larger produers here Delas to compare the same dirt from the same vintage only the producer is the x factor here. 

The granite hills of Hermitage rise above the Rhone at Tain l'Hermitage where the river bends sharply to the east before resuming a southward flow. This gives the vineyards a direct southern exposure. Vines have been grown here since Roman times, and Pliney wrote favorably about the wines of the region. The locals claim that vines were first planted here by Phocaean Greeks around 500 BC. Although the evidence is not conclusive, Greek coins and amphorae dating back to 500 BC have been found in the area.

Some experts feel that the greatest maker of Hermitage is the firm of Jean-Louis Chave. The Chave family has been growing grapes at Hermitage since 1481. They have a reputation for making good wine in poor years, and excellent wine in good ones. They use low yielding vines (average age 60 years) and a late harvest to produce the ripest fruit, and there is virtually no intervention in the winemaking and bottling with no filtration.

We have two 100 point wines on the table and most of the wines on the table this evening sell for double the price of admission!  Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone will be making a special meal to accompany the tasting wines.  The fee for this tasting is $250 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com

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Image result for rhone valley
Super Rhone Tasting at Wine Watch
Friday October 14th
7pm

 

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1985 Chave Hermitage Blanc

This wine is usually a blend of  a blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne and I will never forget the vintage white Rhone tasting that we did a year and a half ago featuring the white wines of Chave.  These are some of the greatest old white wines that I had ever tasted from anywhere. The 1983 and 1982 Hermitage whites from Chave were the best wines on the table and to think they were almost 30 years old!  These wines have been known by collectors and connoisseurs of fine wine as far back as our early days of our country as Thomas Jefferson, a noted wine expert of his day, raved about the wine from this region.

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1988 Chave Hermitage Rouge

(93 Points) Even more closed than the 1989 and 1990, this opaque, dark ruby/purple-colored wine reveals a tightly knit nose of cassis, minerals, and tar. Full-bodied, with superb concentration, the 1988 Chave Hermitage exhibits more astringent, tougher tannin than either the 1989 or 1990. While it appears more structured, it has nowhere near the weight and dazzling opulence of its two younger siblings. Nevertheless, this is a superb Hermitage. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2020. Last tasted 6/96. Rhone Book Jan 1997

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1988 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf Du Pape

Much more like the 1990 than like the 1989. Redolent of meat and undergrowth and leather though there is also a hint of something floral, possibly lavender. Herbal and gamey and definite smoky bacon character. Lacks the grace and elegance of 1989.  Jancis Robinson, Note : 17/20, 2010-10-17

 

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1989 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon

(100 points) The 1989 Le Pavilion is a prodigious wine. Made from yields of 14 hectoliters per hectare, this parcel of old vines (averaging 70-80 years of age) has produced an opaque black/purple-colored wine, with a hauntingly stunning bouquet of violets, cassis, minerals, and new oak. In the mouth, the similarity in texture, richness, and perfect balance to the compelling 1986 Mouton-Rothschild is striking, only this wine is richer and longer. This extraordinarily well-balanced wine will probably not be ready to drink for at least 5-10 years, but it will evolve for three decades or more. It is an enormous yet amazingly well-delineated wine. I lament the fact that there are only 600 cases of this magnificent wine. This great Hermitage was the first of a trilogy (1989, 1990, and 1991) of exquisite Le Pavillons. Last tasted 12/95. (RP) (1/1997) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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1989 Rayas Chateauneuf Du Pape

(97 points) A wine that continues to catch up to the 1990 (and probably has greater longevity) is the 1989. A dense-colored Rayas, but not as thick-looking as the 1990, this dark ruby-colored wine exhibits plenty of roasted herb notes intermixed with scents of tobacco, sweet creme de cassis, and kirsch. Full-bodied, highly-extracted, powerful, and tannic (resembling 1995 more than 1990), it is shedding its cloak of tannin and beginning to approach full maturity. (RP) (1/2003) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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1998 Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque
Price: $600.00    Sale Price: $475.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(98 points) The 1998 Cote Rotie La Turque may end up being a perfect wine. Its smoky black fruits intermixed with licorice, roasted meats, cassis, and flowers create an explosive, exotic perfume. The wine reveals considerable tannin, immense structure, and potentially legendary depth as well as intensity. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2022. (RP) (4/2002) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Image result for 1998 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence

1998 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence

The 1998 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence, the finest example of this offering I have yet tasted (even better than the 1989, 1990, and 1995), spent four years in small barrels prior to being bottled unfiltered. A spectacular effort, it is a monument to great Chateauneuf du Pape. A dense plum/purple color is followed by aromas of sweet black fruits intermixed with tobacco, cedar, pepper, and fruitcake. Powerful, rich, and concentrated, with a finish that lasts for nearly a minute, this wine is performing far better than when I tasted it a year ago. It is a legendary Chateauneuf du Pape in the making. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2025.

This is one of the benchmarks for traditionally-made Chateauneuf du Pape. Paul Feraud, a classmate of Henri Bonneau, is still involved in the running of this estate, but he has given more and more responsibility to his charming, talented daughter, Laurence.  Readers looking for uncompromising Chateauneuf du Pape that can age for two decades need look no further than Pegau. Their primary vineyard plots are well-placed lieux-dits called Monpertuis, Rayas, and La Crau, the latter being the parcel from which the bulk of Pegau's wine emerges.  96 Points - Robert Parker

Image result for 2003 Delas Cote Rotie La Landonne

2003 Delas Cote Rotie La Landonne
Price: $165.00    Sale Price: $125.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(96 points)  The blockbuster 2003 Cote Rotie La Landonne (a 2,700-bottle cuvee of 100% Syrah) is a wine for the ages. Its dense purple hue is followed by gorgeous aromas of graphite, scorched earth, bacon fat, blackberries, blueberries, figs, and espresso roast. Deep, full-bodied, tannic, and backward, it will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age, and should last for two decades.   Wine Advocate #163 Feb 2006

Image result for 2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne

2003 Guigal Cote Rotie la Landonne
Price: $799.00    Your Price: $639.20
Quantity in Stock: 2

(100 Points) Dense purple to the rim with a nose of graphite, creosote, earth, olives, and black, black, black fruits, the primordial, full-bodied, monumental 2003 Cote Rotie La Landonne is amazing stuff. I suspect this is more akin to a dry vintage port than most Cote Roties ever tend to be, but the purity, the richness, the texture, the length are all out of this world. This wine does need some patience on the part of its purchasers, probably five years, more likely 8-10, but then one of the world’s most compelling elixirs will be at its peak for another 20-30+ years. Wine Advocate #170, Apr 2007

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Menu

Selection of Cheese:  Epoisses, Triple Creme and Chevre
Wild boar and mushroom stew with savory herbs and cheese toast

 

The fee for this tasting is $250 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com