2009 - High Spirits in Chateauneuf du Pape

Monday and Tuesday have gone remarkably quickly and smoothly despite the crammed schedule. Chateauneuf is starting to feel like my second home now, my visits have inlcuded pierre usseglio, pegau, barroche, versino, vieux telegraphe, rayas, beaucastel, cros de la mure, clos des cazaux cayron, and clos des papes. Phew, thats a lot of grenache! Everyone seems really very content with their 09s if a bit rushed because 2010 is behind schedule and there is lots to do in the vineyard. The 09 wines our gorgeously lush open and fruity, even the usually more reductive styles are showing well. This is clearly a very good vintage,different to 2007 less black fruit and in many cases less alcohol, which was a pleasant surprise, though still quite high nonetheless, domaines like usseglio have produced wine at about 14.5 alc versus 15+ in 07.No doubt some 09s will be much higher than this, however. The profile of the 09s are rich incredibly smooth more red fruit perhaps than the black fruit of 07. There is definitely tannic power but this is hidden by glycerol and fruit sweetness. However tannins and minerality do seem to give the impression of freshness, for the best wines are certainly not heavy or sickly. Many growers, namely Vincent Avril of Clos des Papes, consider it as in between 2007 and 2005 in style, the sweetness of the former and the structure of the latter without being as rigid or austere as 2005. Mourvedre, Counoise and the cooler grenache zones have done particularly well

A word on 08s. Dismissing this as another 02 is plainly wrong. My tastings in bottle of the southern rhones over the last two days reaffirmed my barrel tastings. Ok there will have been some bad wines in this challenging vintage, but it is surprising how lovely the wines from the good growers are. Ripe, floral, refreshing acids and decent mid-weight smooth structures. Not one of the greats but as good as very nice vintages such as 1999 (or better for some like Vincent Avril)

Chateauneuf's overlooked vintages

Tasting with the affable Vincent Avril today was fascinating.

The final blend of 2008 Clos des Papes red looks very smart, silky pure and refreshing. He likens it to the 1999 which we tasted, too, this was drinking well - elegant moreish, and very fresh after 10 years so this bodes well for the 2008 which he thinks is better. The 04 Clos des Papes red is still very young but offers such vitality, ripeness and polish, a wonderful wine from this shamefully overlooked Chateauneuf vintage.

Julien Barrot at Barroche has made a lovely "signature" cuvee in 2008 rich velvety but fresh with almost Pinot like aromas, a real beauty. There will be no fiancee or pure in 2008 so all the goodness from those pure 100 year old grenache vines has gone into the signature blend, making it all the more special.

Rhone 2007

The interest in Rhone 2007 shows no sign of abating. Our most recent offering of Vieux Donjon 2007 sold out within the day. Indeed, such as been the level of interest we have decided to re-offer many 2007's with our 2008 Rhone release on the 16th November. If you haven't already signed up to receive our mailers, you can do it now here, it takes a matter moments and is a sure fire way to ensure you receive all our emailed updates and releases.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 5

Friday 2nd October - Condrieu, St Joseph and 2008 Vintage summary

Andre Perret could be domaine of the week, having produced the most impressive and consistent range of 2008s we have tasted. Few are simultaneously adept at red and white winemaking, Andre (pictured) achieves both with aplomb. The whites are superb - as racy as 2002 but with greater ripeness, none of the whites were chaptalised, both Clos Chanson and Coteau de Chery rival the Chave and Colombier whites for wine of the vintage. Grisieres will not be bottled separately this year so the regular St Joseph red cuvee has benefited enormously from its old vines, a ripe refreshing and perfectly proportioned wine with complexity of flavour.
Francois Villard makes wines in a totally different style to Perret, they are later picked and richer. His two stand out whites were the Grand Vallon and the Deponcins Condrieus, less expressive than Perret's, but full-bodied and very intense. The Vins de Pays Contours de Deponcins, was also very impressive and could look excellent value. As for the reds, Francois has been extracting less and reigning back on the new oak the last few years to great success. The two very fine, elegant Cote Roties, Gallet Blanc and Brocarde, were the pick of the reds here.

Its been a less exhausting week than anticipated, which is always a good sign. Following a great vintage is never easy and with challenging conditions in the summer of 2008, the vintage will no doubt have its detractors. This is not a homogenous year when just any old producer could have made good wine nor is its a big rich "trophy" vintage, however the important point is that there are enough good wines that will give plenty of drinking pleasure, from the serious producers. The reds will drink relatively early but the best will certainly last well into the mid term (5-7 yrs.) Less rain fell in the south than the north during the summer and, bar the northern sector of Chateauneuf where there was a hailstorm in September, the wines are a shade more consistent, however the top wines undeniably come from the granite slopes of Cornas and specific parts of the Hermitage hill. The whites are of excellent quality, particularly those of the northern rhone.

Alongside the 2008s we tasted the 2007s in bottle. I was delighted to find that these were every bit as impressive as from barrel, my tastings reconfirmed that this is a truely great, must-have, Rhone vintage.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 4

Thursday 1st October - More Hermitage, Crozes and Côte Rôtie.

Today the 2008s of Domaine du Colombier and Bernard Faurie particularly surprised me, they were much more complex, intense and riper than I was expecting.

After a tasting of 2008s with Marc Sorrel, who looks like he will put all of the "Greal" components into the one standard Hermitage cuvee , we head for Domaine du Colombier. Here a garrulous Florent Viale greeted us, we joked about the disproportionate amount of hairdressers operating in Tain, 12 on the last count, and then moved onto the serious business of tasting. Whilst 2009 was a "hands in pockets" vintage, he proclaimed, 2008 was a lot harder. He employed 30 pickers as opposed to the 18 he normally uses. "Conditions were not favourable in 2008 but the results are honourable," was his summary. The reds are good, the white Hermitage is outstanding and nudges the Chave version very closely for top wine so far this trip. I enjoy Faurie's red Hermitage blend every bit as much as Colombier's, if anything it has a shade more vitality aligned to the ripe fruit that both display. Crozes will be one of the patchier areas in 2008 I suspect, particular where vines are grown on moist clay soils. Pochon has made some lovely whites and improved the potential of his standard wine by adding the old vines Curson into the blend.

In Côte Rôtie it looks as if Clusel Roch will keep the 2008 Les Grandes Places as a separate wine, though the final decision has not been made. I think its good enough to stand alone but if they do blend it in, the straight Côte Rôtie could make for a good buy. The 2008s of Bernard Burgaud seems to be up there with those of his rivals, he put it down to "hard work, good weather in September and a bit of luck." Fresh and elegant but with enough body and fruit maturity, an excellent effort. Whilst at Rostaing the distance between Côte Blonde and the rest of the wines is clearer than ever before. The La Landonne was its usual surly, backward self, but there is good power and complexity there.

As for 2009 its obviously early days, but the growers I saw today seem as happy with the quality of their 2009s as those in the southern Rhône. The only difference is that the size of the crop in the North is thankfully quite good, whereas in the South it will be a small vintage.

Tomorrow St Joseph, Condrieu and Lyon St Exupery!

La Tour du Rhône - Day 3

Wednesday 30th September. Cornas and Hermitage.

It is becoming clear that 2008 is a "granite year". The well drained granite slopes of Cornas and the heavily granitic parts of Hermitage have produced the vintage's top performers so far.

At our first visit Jean Louis Chave discusses with us the paradox of the hot sunny vintages that produce big alcoholic, critically acclaimed wines and the cooler, sometimes more difficult vintages that produce lower alcohol wines that are the ones you actually want to drink. 2008 whites here are stunning, the most magical we have tasted yet, his reds are pretty smart too. All purity and vivacity, no big blockbusters.

Up the treacherous Cornas slopes to Allemand's cellars . As Thierry puts it " Cornas is great in a little vintage". A heavy selection has been made in 2008 resulting in yields of 20 hl / ha, about 9 hl / ha less than usual. All cuvees will be blended into one wine. It was typically inky in colour but more generous and smoother than usual, and very sensual. It does however still show a good bit of backbone and mineral intensity. Bravo!

At Chapoutier the stand out wine is l'Ermite white, which further confirms how extremely good some of the whites are in this vintage. The red l'Ermite is quite useful too - it is certainly the pick of their reds.

We leave plenty of time for our last visit - the excitable Mathieu Barret of Domaine du Coulet can talk the hind leg off a donkey. We taste whilst admiring his new cement eggs, ala Pontet Canet - fermentation vessels that make very precise wines. "Ah we are in Burgundy" he says of the first 08 barrel. Certainly true aromatically but there is more grip here than you would find further north. There will be only one Cornas bottling this year. It is impressive and certainly surpasses the general quality of this vintage. As successful as Allemand, perhaps a shade better. We re-taste his 07s which are even more stunning than from barrel. This domaine goes from strength to strength, and it will soon be considered one of the greats of the Rhone, not just of Cornas.

Tomorrow more Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, then onto Cote Rotie.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 2

This morning we headed into the wild hills of the north sector of the Cotes du Rhone to Mondragon, hunting an elusive Chateaunneuf called Bois Pointu made by Charles Blagden and Eric Michel of Cros de la Mure. Last year was an excellent debut vintage - beginners luck? how would they cope with the more challenging conditions of 2008? Exceptionally well is the answer. Being biodynamic did not make life easy because of early season disease, however the benefits are that later in the season the grapes ripen much more quickly. A sensual fragrant and really quite intense wine, very long flavours, in a light to medium bodied style. Seductive Grenache rather like its close neighnour Rayas. Absolutely loved this. Stardorm awaits this small Chateauneuf producer.

Back south towards Vacqueyras and Gigondas, where the 09 harvest is still continuing particularly in Gigondas' high, late-ripening Dentelles to Montmirail hills. The new vintage sounds like a small one, 20hl/ha have been reported in parts. Clos des Cazaux and Cayron offered us good, fragrant 2008s, juicy and rewarding wines that will drink relatively early. The tranquility of Gigondas village centre is briefly interrupted by a grower on his tractor belting noisly past as he returns home from the vines, its midday and nothing gets between a frenchman and his lunch! That's our cue to leave.

Beaucastel is next, stunning whites particularly the regular Chateauneuf and the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes, they show a freshness and finesse you would not normally associate with the southern Rhone "meridional." Not much red has been made, yields of 10hl/ha versus the usual 25hl/ha. Beaucastel red took me by surprise totally - rich very nearly jammy and structured which is at total odds to the rest of the 2008s, a wine of broad shoulders that should impress tasters. Further South in Bedarrides Vieux Telegraphe finished the 2009 Chateauneuf harvest yesterday and they too verify it is very small, half a crop in parts. In 2008 they have made 30 percent less than usual due to a mixture of difficult flowering, a concentrating north wind in September and a severe selection in the vineyards and winery. The result is a classic mix of Vieux Telegraphe composure and complexity, its not flashy but it never is. It grows on you , very moreish, all red, sloe and bullace fruits no raisin or animal here. An accomplished effort, should be a good mid termer. Finally to Versino, no Felix here in 2008, all of the old vine juice went into the straight Chateauneuf and this has made it, for me, joint wine of the day with Bois Pointu. Complex, smooth, spicy and ripe, not big but far from weak, it should be good value too. Jean Paul thinks the wine is soft like 1996 but richer, similar in structure to 2004. End of the day. Up north here we come.

La Tour du Rhône - Day 1

Monday, 28th September

Don't let the title concern you, the J&B buying team haven't taken to the bicycle just yet, though that might have been preferable to the beaten up Mazda Hertz tried to force on us at Toulouse airport.

An early start this morning as we headed along the windy roads of the Rousillon hills. Our destination was Clos des Fées. The beautiful, tranquil almost otherworldly scenery surrounding their village, Vingrau, is truly something to behold. The difference between here and the low plains of the Roussillon is stark, not only in terms of beauty but also in temperature. A distinct chill in the air attested to this. 8.30 am and my mouth was awash with old vines carignan, grenache and syrah. The cellar/garage is tiny. How they produce 3000 cases here is a miracle. Vintages are pretty consistent up here, so not surprisingly 06, 07 and 08 were all impressive. 07 was the richest and silkiest, 06 much more serious and classic with 08 somewhere in between, and perhaps the most lifting of all. These wines really show what greatness the relatively unchartered waters of the Roussillon hills can achieve.

We leave uncharacteristically on time and bat east accross the Roussillon towards Pezenas - a quick pit stop to see our old friends at Domaine Montrose. Having seen the success of their flavoursome and elegant looking rosé magnums, they seem to have caught the large format bug. They now produce some quite stunning looking jeroboams - we'll be shipping these in as early as we can in 2010.

After a minor disagreement between myself, Hew and the rather authoritarian French lady on our navigating system that takes us through some less than salubrious parts of Montpellier, we end up at Mont-Redon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape a little late. We taste a fantastically fresh white 2008 Châteauneuf. The red is admirably complete with good body, fruit and freshness. It does not have the power of 07 but will prove to be a very good drinker. We revisited the red 2006 Châteauneuf, a vintage I adore, but this seems to be going through a closed phase and needs to age for a good two years or so. We also took a fresh look at the 2005, and how this has come on. Brooding and surly for years this is now sumptuously rich, velvety and starting to drink very well indeed.

Across the village to our next stop, Pierre Usseglio. There will just be one red Usseglio Châteauneuf in 08 - but what a beauty. Ripe, floral, teaming with lush opulent fruit. Once again there is not the density or raw power of some more recently celebrated vintages but you certainly wouldn't turn this back in a restaurant. And it's no weakling either showing a nice touch of stuffing that should see it through to the mid term.

Onto our final tasting at Pegau where there was a flurry of activity as usual. A throng of Far Eastern tourists, German private customers and two weary British merchants all waiting in anticipation. Laurence Ferraud eventually arrived, closely followed by a tractor with 09 grapes from one of the last parcels to be picked. It seems that most in Châteaneuf are finishing harvest today, in glorious baking-hot sunshine. We watched as the 09 Pegau grapes were transferred to vat, and when offered by Laurence a testube of free run 09 grape juice Hew accepted with remarkable alacrity. Luckily he left some for me - nectar. Juicy sweet and packed with fruit.

2008 followed and while there will be no Da Capo a decision is yet to be made on the Laurence. The regular cuvée will please Pegau followers enormously. Classic, not heavy with plenty of fruit and savoury character in equal measure. After dropping off our bags at the hotel we headed back to Mont Redon for dinner. We were greeted by 100 delirious, singing and dancing portuguese pickers who were celebrating the Féte de Vendange, the last day of harvest. We escaped before being caught up in an increasingly raucous congo. Over dinner we tried some excellent bottles with the Fabres and Abeilles, who run Mont-Redon, the highlights of which were an excellent red Châteauneuf 1998 that is really starting to open up beautifully after so many years in the doldrums and an incredibly rich and spritely 1967. Mont-Redon make honest pure wines, they aren't flashy and don't get big press but they are wines you get immense pleasure from drinking. And what more can you ask? Well, an early night for one thing... more Châteaneuf, Gigondas and Vacqueyras awaits tomorrow.

Upcoming buying trip: The Rhone Valley's 2008s

Next week sees the buying team of Hew Blair and Giles Burke-Gaffney visit the Rhone valley. Starting off with a visit to Clos des Fees in Roussillon, they'll move up through Châteauneuf-du-Pape visiting amongst others, Usseglio, Pegau, Versino, Beaucastel and Vieux Telegraph. Leaving no wine untasted they'll head North to visit our plethora of producers in St Joseph, Côte Rotie, Hermitage Cornas and Condrieu.

They will be posting daily on the 2008's they taste: decanting their thoughts regularly for you to read.

Watch this space.