Hand picked in the Rhône
19 Apr 2010 by Jancis Robinson (taken from Tasting Notes on jancisrobinson.com)
Here is a selection of Jancis's tasting notes following our recent Rhône tasting at The Ambassador.
'The excellent UK importer Vine Trail, which hand picks the wines it offers on the basis of detailed research in French cellars and vineyards, showed off many of its current offerings from the Rhône valley recently and below are my enthusiastic notes. Their 2005 Côte Rôtie showed particularly well.
I already made the most obvious bargain a wine of the week but there are many other wines worthy of your attention here. And I urge you to look at the background to them all on Vine Trail's website.
Look out for 'GV's denoting especially good value.
NORTHERN WHITES
Bernard Gripa, Les Pins 2007 St-Péray 17 Drink 2009-2012
Intense and mineral nose. Very refreshing, and full bodied. More than hint of lime, and honest. Very persistent. Definitely best with food though. 13%
£17.25 Vine Trail
Pierre Gonon, Les Oliviers 2007 St-Joseph 17 Drink 2009-2012
Really interesting development on the nose. Savoury, well balanced, a hint of florality with real grunt. Good stuff! 13.8%
£22.95 Vine Trail
NORTHERN REDS
Dom du Murinais, Vieilles Vignes 2007 Crozes-Hermitage 16.5 Drink 2010-2013
Firm intense and peppery. Refined. Very polished and smooth and sinewy. Super refreshing. Not that ambitious but a very well done Crozes. GV 12.5%
£13.25 Vine Trail
David & Benjamin Duclaux, La Germine 2005 Côte Rôtie 16.5 Drink 2010-2015
Scented and easy and confident and obviously Côte Rôtie on the nose. A little loose on the palate and quite forward but promises lots of pleasure without too much alcohol or tannin. 13%
£30.95 Vine Trail
Eric & Joël Durand, Empreintes 2006 Cornas 17 Drink 2010-2015
Deep crimson. Very jazzy fruity nose - Rich and very snazzy. Very well done. Rich and super ripe. 13%
£23.95 Vine Trail
Robert Michel, La Geynale 2005 Cornas 17 Drink 2011-2016
Transparent ruby. Liquorice and great density. Dry finish with some vibrato on the mid palate. A nice package, so long as you don't object to bone-dry wines that still have a fair amount of tannin, even after five years! 13%
£31.95 Vine Trail
SOUTHERN REDS
Le Sang des Cailloux, Floureto 2007 Vacqueyras 17 Drink 2010-2016
Very rich and winning. Mouth filling and luscious. Such a lot of ripe fruit that you can almost fail to spot the tannins underneath. Lovely stuff with a heady floral aroma. Great balance for now and the future, I'd have thought. 14%
£16.50 Vine Trail
Le Sang des Cailloux, Lopy 2006 Vacqueyras 17.5 Drink 2010-2017
Dark crimson. Intense, ambitious nose. Vey racy and exciting and layered. Really complex and just about broachable now though clearly it will improve. Great stuff! Super spicy yet with some grace and sinewy build too. 14%
£25.50 Vine Trail
Raspail-Ay 2006 Gigondas 16.5 Drink 2010-2016
Dense and very dry. Masses of alcohol. Super meaty - eat with steak! Still quite dry on the end. Not a bad price. 14.5%
£16.30 Vine Trail
Dom de Ferrand 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 16.5 Drink 2012-2018
Gamey nose. With herbs too. A real daube! Not the most concentrated but lots of fun and easy charm that finishes dry rather than sweet. Far from massive. Needs food as it's a little chewy still. 14.5%
£20.50 Vine Trail