Rhone/southern France

La Chapelle - HermitageWhen driving south through France it always feels that as one reaches Lyon it should become hot and sunny – somewhat prematurely as there are still over 300 kilometers before reaching the Mediterranean. So the northern Rhone is cool, the northern limit of Syrah and that is what makes the grape perform so magically here, triumph through struggle. And it is a struggle, much of the good or great wine is grown on precipitous hillsides, steeply and narrowly terraced and useless as a workplace for those with vertigo.  Viognier, the north’s most high maintenance grape variety is grown in similar conditions and the combination of hillside, river and the beginnings of mistral are essential to quality. Marsanne and Roussanne are other white wine vines found in this area where in fact white wine used to dominate. Côte Rôti, Condrieu, St-Joseph, Hermitage, Crozes, Cornas and St-Peray make up the north.

In the south, after a bit of a gap in the vines and some majestic wind turbines cunningly sited along the autoroute the southern Rhone begins. Supplementary: which two types of confectionary are produced in the Rhone valley? In the south we are much nearer the Med and Grenache takes over from Syrah as dominant red. Villages like Sablet, Rasteau, Gigondas and Chateauneuf-du-Pape all make hedonistic wines of varying quality and style. Picking the best and most interesting and delicious is our job. 

The south also gives us lipsmacking rosés from Tavel and Lirac. Travelling south and west from the plateau of Chateauneuf brings us to first Languedoc and then Roussillon, two regions lumped together yet of very different character. The former displays a split personality with many growers of the old school lost and angry as they fail to adapt to the loss of subsidies and the arrival of the market. On the other hand there are contemporary growers, entrepreneurial and energetic and often incomers, though plenty of natives are enthused by their vineyards' potential too. Their's is a green and pleasant land. Roussillon is rockier, more austere, a Catalan land of fortified houses and fortified wines on a bleaker, more imposing landscape.

 

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Vintage Description Cs Sz Bt Sz Cs Bts Cs ib Cs inc Bt inc
2013 drink or keep Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot
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6x 75cl 1 0 £1,380.00 - - Buy
2009 ready Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard
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12x 75cl 1 0 £4,800.00 - - Buy
2022 drink or keep Franck Balthazar Cotes du Rhone
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12x 75cl 7 4 £144.00 £211.27 £19.95 Buy
2021 drink or keep Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone
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6x 75cl 6 4 £84.00 £120.04 £24.95 Buy
2022 young Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone
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12x 75cl ep ep £198.00 - - Buy
2022 young Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes du Rhone
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6x 150cl ep ep £222.00 - - Buy
2019 young Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf
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6x 75cl 2 0 £300.00 - - Buy
2021 drink or keep Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf
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6x 75cl 10 4 £310.00 £391.24 £76.95 Buy
2022 young Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf
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6x 75cl ep ep £360.00 - - Buy
2018 drink or keep Beaucastel Chateauneuf Hommage J Perrin
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3x 75cl 3 0 £660.00 £801.62 £299.00 Buy
2017 drink or keep Chateau Montus Madiran
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6x 75cl 0 5 £120.00 £163.24 £31.95 Buy
2017 drink or keep Chateau Bouscasse Madiran
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6x 75cl 0 3 £84.00 £120.04 £22.50 Buy
2019 drink or keep Chateau Bouscasse Madiran
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6x 75cl 1 0 £90.00 £127.24 £23.95 Buy
2009 ready Les Cailloux Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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12x 75cl 1 0 £420.00 - - Buy
2020 drink or keep Charbonniere Vacqueyras
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6x 75cl 0 2 £96.00 £139.06 £25.95 Buy
2016 drink or keep Comtes de Courten CDP Cuvee Speciale
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6x 75cl 1 0 £600.00 - - Buy
2021 drink or keep Domaine Coursodon St-Joseph L`Olivaie
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6x 75cl 2 0 £165.00 £217.24 £41.95 Buy
2021 drink or keep Domaine Coursodon St-Joseph Silice
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12x 75cl 0 9 £255.00 £344.47 £31.95 Buy
2000 late Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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12x 75cl 1 0 £720.00 - - Buy
2006 ready Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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12x 75cl 1 0 £780.00 - - Buy
2011 drink or keep Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 2 0 £270.00 - - Buy
2012 drink or keep Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 2 0 £300.00 - - Buy
2012 drink or keep Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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12x 75cl 1 0 £600.00 - - Buy
2013 drink or keep Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 2 0 £270.00 - - Buy
2017 young Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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1x 300cl 1 0 £250.00 £350.00 £350.00 Buy
2018 drink or keep Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 3 4 £354.00 £448.16 £84.95 Buy
2020 drink or keep Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 0 2 - £455.84 £84.95 Buy
2021 young Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 5 0 £366.00 - - Buy
2022 young Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 2 0 £366.00 - - Buy
2023 young Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl ep ep £366.00 - - Buy
2023 young Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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3x 150cl ep ep £375.00 - - Buy
2015 drink or keep Clos St-Jean Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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12x 75cl 1 0 £300.00 - - Buy
2012 drink or keep Clos St-Jean Chateauneuf Deus Ex Machina
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6x 75cl 1 0 £600.00 - - Buy
2012 drink or keep Clos St-Jean Chateauneuf Sanctus
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1x 150cl 2 0 £475.00 - - Buy
2008 ready Chapoutier Chateauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac
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6x 75cl 2 0 £330.00 - - Buy
2009 ready Chapoutier Chateauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac
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6x 75cl 1 0 £300.00 - - Buy
2011 ready Chapoutier Chateauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac
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6x 75cl 1 0 £330.00 - - Buy
2020 drink or keep Chapoutier Chateauneuf Croix de Bois
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6x 75cl 2 3 £290.00 £371.86 £69.95 Buy
2008 drink or keep Chapoutier Ermitage L`Ermite Rouge
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6x 75cl 1 0 £900.00 - - Buy
2019 drink or keep Chapoutier Ermitage Les Greffieux Rouge
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6x 75cl 0 5 £525.00 £653.09 £125.00 Buy
2018 drink or keep Chapoutier Ermitage Le Meal Rouge
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6x 75cl 0 5 £795.00 £973.24 £185.00 Buy
2018 drink or keep Chapoutier Bila-Haut VIT Ctes Roussillon
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6x 75cl 1 5 £180.00 £239.09 £46.95 Buy
2019 drink or keep Chapoutier Bila-Haut VIT Ctes Roussillon
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6x 75cl 2 0 £195.00 £253.24 £46.95 Buy
2020 young Chapoutier Bila-Haut VIT Ctes Roussillon
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6x 75cl 2 0 £195.00 - - Buy
2005 ready Chapoutier St-Joseph Les Granits Rouge
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6x 75cl 1 0 £270.00 - - Buy
2018 drink or keep Chapoutier Cote Rotie Mordoree
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6x 75cl 2 0 £450.00 £559.24 £105.00 Buy
2020 drink or keep Chapoutier St-Joseph Le Clos Rouge
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6x 75cl 0 4 £475.00 £589.24 £110.00 Buy
2022 ready Clos La Coutale (Cahors)
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6x 75cl 1 0 £45.00 £73.24 £13.95 Buy
2006 ready Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge
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12x 75cl 0 1 £4,200.00 £5,700.00 £475.00 Buy
2007 ready Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Rouge
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6x 75cl 1 0 £2,280.00 - - Buy
2009 drink or keep Jean-Louis Chave L`Hermitage Rouge
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6x 75cl 1 0 £2,925.00 - - Buy
2010 drink or keep Jean-Louis Chave L`Hermitage Rouge
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6x 75cl 1 0 £3,525.00 - - Buy
2020 drink or keep Emmanuel Darnaud Crozes Trois Chenes
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12x 75cl 1 4 £180.00 £254.48 £23.95 Buy
2021 drink or keep Emmanuel Darnaud Crozes Trois Chenes
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12x 75cl 3 0 £180.00 - - Buy
2020 drink or keep Emmanuel Darnaud St-Joseph Dardouille
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12x 75cl 1 0 £315.00 - - Buy
2021 drink or keep Emmanuel Darnaud St-Joseph Dardouille
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12x 75cl 1 7 £315.00 £416.47 £39.95 Buy
2018 drink or keep J M Gerin Cote Rotie Champin Le Seigneur
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3x 150cl 0 2 £210.00 £271.24 £105.00 Buy
2018 drink or keep J M Gerin Cote Rotie Cote-Bodin
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6x 75cl 0 4 £480.00 £595.24 £120.00 Buy
2017 drink or keep J M Gerin Cote Rotie Grandes Places
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6x 75cl 0 1 - £649.24 £120.00 Buy
2018 drink or keep J M Gerin Cote Rotie Grandes Places
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6x 75cl 2 0 £480.00 - - Buy
2012 drink or keep Guigal Cote Rotie Chateau d`Ampuis
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6x 75cl 1 0 £540.00 - - Buy
2018 ready Jean-Luc Jamet Cotes du Rhone L`Enclave
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12x 75cl 1 0 £195.00 - - Buy
2018 ready Jean-Luc Jamet Syrah Valine
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12x 75cl 2 0 £195.00 - - Buy
2019 drink or keep Jean-Luc Jamet Cote Rotie Terrasses
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6x 75cl 2 1 £325.00 £409.24 £78.95 Buy
2019 drink or keep Domaine de la Janasse CDP Chaupin
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6x 75cl 4 0 £249.00 £322.66 £59.95 Buy
2021 drink or keep Georges Lelektsoglou Crozes-Hermitage VV
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6x 75cl 1 2 £156.00 £206.44 £39.95 Buy
2020 drink or keep Marcoux Lirac La Lorentine
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6x 75cl 3 3 £81.00 £116.44 £22.95 Buy
2020 drink or keep Marcoux Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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6x 75cl 1 1 £192.00 £257.86 £48.95 Buy
2020 drink or keep Marcoux Chateauneuf-du-Pape
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3x 150cl 1 2 £198.00 £256.84 £99.95 Buy
2019 drink or keep Marcoux Chateauneuf Vieilles Vignes
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6x 75cl 1 0 £500.00 - - Buy
2020 young Marcoux Chateauneuf Vieilles Vignes
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6x 75cl 3 0 £495.00 - - Buy
2019 ready Negly La Falaise (Languedoc-La Clape)
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6x 75cl 0 2 £96.00 £138.29 £24.95 Buy
2021 drink or keep Vincent Paris St-Joseph Les Cotes
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6x 75cl 1 0 £96.00 £134.44 £24.95 Buy
2022 drink or keep Vincent Paris St-Joseph Les Cotes
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6x 75cl 6 0 £105.00 £145.24 £26.95 Buy
2017 drink or keep Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 60
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6x 75cl 1 0 £225.00 - - Buy

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