Rhone Wines Can Be Dear But Values Also Available

Last month, a bunch of vintners from France’s Rhône Valley landed in San Francisco for a series of tastings and seminars.

Most were from the valley’s southern reaches, though, curiously, none was from that area’s most esteemed appellation, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, perhaps because its grape growers and winemakers prefer to provide such promotional parties on their own.

Gigondas, however, the southern Rhône Valley’s otherwise most intriguing appellation, was represented, and that alone drew me to the group’s walk-around tasting, held on the 32^nd floor of the St. Francis Hotel overlooking Union Square, and much of the rest of San Francisco.

Not much Gigondas was being poured, sorry to say, and I came away excited by only one of them, the pungent, peppery and persistent Pierre Amadieu 2021 Romane-Machotte Gigondas Rouge ($40), a Gigondas all muscle and pride – very aromatic, darkly fruity, robust yet mannerly, with a seam of the appellation’s signature peppery spice.

But the Rhône Valley embraces 17 crus, or significant grape-growing and winemaking districts, most in the south, so opportunities to taste, especially wines from enclaves with which I have been only marginally acquainted, were plentiful.

By day’s end, I’d tasted 40 Rhône Valley wines, most of them red, though several of the tasting’s more impressive releases were white. That included the most alluring wine of the day, the M. Chapoutier 2018 Chante-Alouette Hermitage Blanc ($135) – assertive, balanced and persistent with suggestions of honeycomb, hazelnuts, peaches and spice, all fresh, clear and pointed.

It is 100 percent Marsanne, a grape variety that several growers are trying to establish in California, with only occasional satisfying results. Most I have tasted have come off shy and simple compared with the M. Chapoutier, but vintners here just are starting to work with the grape, and Marsannes as dramatic as the M. Chapoutier yet may emerge.

Another memorably striking white on the day was the Domaine Niero 2021 Les Raves Condrieu Blanc ($72), a large and flamboyant bouquet of citrus, ginger, lemongrass and honeycomb. The wine is entirely Viognier.

(The Rhône is recognized mostly for its red wines, but as W. Blake Gray details in this post for the website wine-searcher, more of the region’s vineyards are being given over to grapes for white wines.)

Both the Chapoutier and the Niero are dear, but the tasting’s overall takeaway was that Rhône Valley is the source of many wines priced much more accessibly, helping explain why imported wines generally have such a firm grip on the pocketbook of American wine enthusiasts.

Wines that generated my most enthusiasm were often priced at $15 to $22, with only a couple of others topping $45. Those were the Domaine Niero 2021 Côte-Rôtie Rouge Eminence ($85), a juicy, silken and lingering Syrah that shows more the blackberry and stoney side of the grape than the bacon fat and pepper, and the Domaine Niero 2021 Saint-Joseph Rouge Bois Prieur ($55), also Syrah, showing a more floral, earthy and spicy, even feral, side of the grape. I don’t score wines, but if my notes say “swallow” (as opposed to the customary spitting), as they do with this Domaine Niero, it means it ranks high on my list of favorites.

Aside from the M. Chapoutier Heritage Blanc, the most startling wine of the day was the Notre Dame de Cousignac 2021 Côtes du Rhône Villages Saint-Andéol Rouge Accord Tonique ($28). That’s a mouthful of a name for a mouthful of wine, an exceptionally dark, rich, spicy and engaging blend of Grenache, Mourvédre, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault.

The Accord Tonique not only is a “natural” wine – organically grown grapes, hand harvesting, native yeasts, no sulfites – it is a wine that’s been serenaded by classical music chosen by winemaker Raphaël Pommier, also a singer, songwriter and composer.

Here’s how that works: Pommier sees a connection between musical instruments and grape varieties. For example, cello and Grenache share power and generosity, first violin and Cinsault share lightness and freshness, second violin and Carignane share fruitiness, roundness and a bit of roughness, he believes.

To get them all to play together harmoniously, he has wired his cellar with loudspeakers, through which he plays classical music 24 hours a day throughout the 35 or so days needed to complete fermentation – with this vintage compositions by French composer Claude Debussy.  He is convinced that the vibration of the music stimulates the yeast in the tanks, creating more synergy and complexity in the wine than if the juice were fermented in typically quiet quarters.

Until a doctorate candidate in enology at UC Davis looks into and writes a thesis on the influence of classical music on wine during fermentation we will have to take Pommier’s word on it.

Pommier also was responsible for two other especially memorable wines of the day, the hefty and spicy Domaine de Cousignac 2022 Côtes du Rhône Parcelle Sud Rouge ($18), whose jammy blend of fruits is based on Grenache, and the earthy and complex Domaine de Cousignac 2022 Côtes du Vivarais Parcelle Nord Rouge ($18), a floral, bacony and peppery blend based on 85 percent Syrah, with Grenache making up the balance.

My other favorites on the day included:

The Cave de Cairanne Chantecôtes 2021 Côtes du Rhône Abélia ($15): To judge by the wines it was pouring in San Francisco, Cave de Cairanne is a house that delivers more intensity, complexity and polish in its wines than its modest prices suggest. This blend of traditional Rhone varieties like Syrah, Grenache and Carignan, while lean in build and young in its bright red fruit, nevertheless was full of spunk, thanks in large part to its incisive acidity.

The Cave de Cairanne 2020 La Grande Reserve Rouge ($22): Another bargain from the house of Cairanne, La Grande Reserve Rouge shares with the Chantecôtes sweet juicy fruit and a bracing acidity that begs for the wine to be served with an equally straightforward and uncomplicated dish, like pasta primavera.

The Chateau la Couranconne 2020 Rasteau Rouge ($22): A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, the Chateeau la Couranconne is flamboyantly aromatic up front, then settles into comforting flavors of strawberries and raspberries, all spiced with a few twists of the pepper grinder.

The Domaine Autrand 2021 Vinsobres Rouge ($20): Another blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, the Vinsobres is all jammy fruit and peppery spice, with marginally more tannins reinforcing its place at the table.