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The Henry Wine Group
May–August 2017
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character with distinct finesse and
clarity. The Vinsobres Cru consists
of a selection of the best terroirs of
the region. Only 1300 hectares of the
1800 have been selected based on
the geology and exposition (south-
exposed vineyards only have been
included in the cru delimitation). The
non-selected parcels will be allowed
to produce 'simple' Côtes-du-Rhône
AOC, which means that the AOC
Côtes du Rhône Village disappears.
RASTEAU AOC:
In 2010 the red
wines from this former Côtes du
Rhône Villages were elevated to
AC status. 75% of the appellation’s
vineyards are hillsides rising between
500 and 1000 feet, and the region
features smooth, stone covered clay-
limestone terraces. It has been long
considered a top red Côtes du Rhône
Villages wine. Rasteau’s application to
be elevated to a specific AOC - Crus
des Côtes du Rhône - as a dry red wine
took almost a decade to be approved.
The winegrowers’ syndicate requested
it 2002, but experts from a board of
inquiry studied the vineyards and
excluded some 100 hectares from the
then 1300 ha before granting the status.
GIGONDAS AOC:
a top-quality
former Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages
that was promoted to AC status in
1971, Gigondas’ 1,230 ha produce
one of the most authentic wines of
the Southern Rhône. This is where
Roman centurions of the famous
Second Legion built their country
villas in the first century AD,
away from the garrison of Orange.
Located in the western flank of the
Dentelles, this is a cooler, higher
spot, and the name comes from the
Latin jocunditas, meaning delight
or merriness. Gigondas is fortunate
to have a large proportion of fairly
high vineyards, promoting slower
ripening patterns. This not-too-hot
climate ripens grapes to full maturity,
with ripened phenolics and sugars
resulting in dark, rich, robust reds
with ripe, herbal and plummy flavors.
Red and Rosé are made mostly from
Grenache (maximum of 80%) with at
least 15% Syrah and Mourvedre, and
a maximum of 10% other grapes. No
white wines are permitted.
VACQUERAS AOC:
elevated to
AOC status in 1990, the south-facing,
sun-soaked vineyards of Vacqueras
produce some of the Southern Rhône’s
most punchy, powerful wines. The
soils here are typical – a garrigue
of stone covered sand, red clay, and
limestone, with traces of marine
fossils from thousands of years ago.
At 1,394 ha, it is larger than any local
cru except for Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
An early-ripening vineyard, Vacqueras
can produce reds and rosés from a
minimum 50% Grenache, plus at least
20% of Syrah and Mourvedre, and
no more than 10% in total of other
grapes. The wines show a peppery
combination of dark fruits with
garrigue and cedar, with deep, baked
red fruit flavors predominant on the
palate. Whites (actually quite rare), are
from Grenache blanc, with Clairette,
Bourboulenc, etc. Wines from this
appellation remain excellent values.
BEAUME DE VENISE AOC:
the
red wines of Beaume de Venise
have become the 14th AOC of the
Rhône. The new appellation covers
four communes, including the
eponymous Beaume de Venise, from
the department of the Vaucluse,
south of the Dentelles de Montmirail
Mountains, which are based on
limestone (The other three are Lafare,
Suzette, and La Roque-Alric). All
wines within the AOC must contain
at least 50% Grenache and 25%
Syrah, with a typical blend being 65%
Grenache and 35% Syrah. The wines
show earthy, spicy aromas and leathery
textures that encompass black fruits,
with a thread of tannin that can require
a year or two to round out. Post cru
status, the white and rosé wines of the
region have been downgraded to the
Côtes du Rhône category.
CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE AOC:
the most well-known of the southern
Rhône Appellations dates back to
Gallo-Roman times. In 1157 the
Bishop of Avignon, Geoffry, planted
and personally managed his own
estate on this ancient winegrowing
land. By the time of the dual Papacy in
the 14th century, when Pope Clement
V arrived in Avignon in 1309, the
wine from the village was in great
demand. Pope John XXII constructed
a “new castle” between 1318 and 1333
as a summer residence. This became
part of the line of fortifications
encircling Avignon, and remained
standing until the retreating Germans
blew it up in 1944. On the viticultural
side, the region, after being devastated
by phylloxera in the late 1800s, began
a slow return to form, and by 1923,
under the energetic guide of Baron Le
Roy of Château Fortia, had established
a set of strict rules for the production
of wine that became the model for the
entire AOC system in France.
The region is known for its amazingly
stony soil, the surface of which is
covered, in varying amounts, by
rounded pudding stones or
galets
,
which range in diameter from that
of an egg to larger than a man’s fist.
They store the heat of the sun and
reflect it back onto the vines at night,
resulting in elevated grape sugars (the
Appellation had, for years, the highest
minimum alcohol content in France,
at 12.5%). Here the “symphony of
13 grapes” (although the allowance
of both Grenache blanc and noir
and Picpoul blanc and noir really
make it 15) makes up the blend, with
Grenache dominating (and restricted
to a maximum yield of 35 hl/ha, or
2 tons/acre, hand-harvesting only),
followed by Mourvedre, Syrah,
Cinsault, Muscardin, Vaccarese,
Picpoul, Terret Noir, and Counoise.
Four white grapes are allowed (a
fifth, Grenache blanc, is counted as
Grenache): Clairette, Bourboulenc,
Picardin, and Roussanne. There has
been a modern change in winemaking
and “cepage”, resulting in a variety of
styles, but the wines fall into 2 basic
categories- the traditional, full-bodied,
dark, spicy, long-lived style and the
full or partial carbonic-maceration
method easy-drinking modern style,
brimming with up-front juicy, jammy
fruit. Very stringent regulations are
enforced here that ensure that only
fully-ripe grapes in healthy condition
are utilized:
“le rape”
requires that 5
to 20% of the grapes harvested within
the maximum yield are rejected and
declassified to
vin de table
. A small
amount of white wine is made from
the permitted white grapes of the
appellation, and the top examples are
rich, with an opulent, exotic fruit style
and refreshingly crisp finish.
LIRAC AOC:
located on a soil
base of red clay, quartz chippings,
and limestone, was once only an
appellation for rosé wines, but
production of high-quality, fruit-
forward reds, from Grenache, with
Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan, and