June 2012
I made my last stop in France's Southern Rhône Valley at St.-Cosme, then headed up to Jaboulet Aîné
Posted: Jun 29, 2012 1:00pm ET
On my fifth day in France's Rhône Valley, I visited Château de St.-Cosme in Gigondas, then headed north to Paul Jaboulet Aîné. Here are my tasting notes on the 2010 Northern Rhônes at both domaines, and much more.
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I made a quick stop in Châteauneuf-du-Pape at the new La Consonniere, then headed up to Domaine de Mourchon in Séguret
Posted: Jun 27, 2012 1:00pm ET
On my fourth day in France's Rhône Valley, I made one last stop in Châteauneuf-du-Pape at the new La Consonniere domaine, then headed up into the hills to Séguret, where I checked out the family-run operation at Domaine de Mourchon. Here are my tasting notes on the 2010 Châteauneufs at both domaines, and much more.
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On my third day in France's Rhône Valley I visited a few of the south's benchmarks
Posted: Jun 25, 2012 2:00pm ET
On my third day in France's Rhône Valley, I visited a few benchmarks of the south, starting with Château de Beaucastel. After that I visited Isabel Ferrando at Domaine St.-Préfert, followed by a trip to Château Cabrières. Here are my tasting notes on the 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Papes and more.
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On my second day of visits in France's Rhône Valley I made three more stops in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to check out the 2010 vintage
Posted: Jun 22, 2012 2:00pm ET
On my second day back in France's Rhône Valley, I visited three domaines to check out the 2010 vintage (and a few 2011s), beginning with Domaine Jean Royer. I then checked out Ogier, followed by Domaine de Cristia. Here are my tasting notes.
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On my first day back in France's Rhône Valley, I visited Jean-Charles Cazes at Sénéchaux and the Coulons at Beaurenard
Posted: Jun 19, 2012 2:00pm ET
My flight was on time. My train was on time. And I even figured out the rental car in short order, getting that frustrating "eco" function off to avoid the maddening engine stop at red lights, as well as figuring out where the parking brake was.
After a quick lunch at La Mère Germain, I visited with Jean-Charles Cazes at Sénéchaux and Daniel and Frédéric Coulon at Beaurenard, where the 2010s are superb.
Here are my tasting notes.
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I'll be checking out the 2010s from France's Northern and Southern Rhône Valleys, as well as a smattering of 2011s and, likely, quite a bit more
Posted: Jun 18, 2012 2:00pm ET
Well, I'm off to the Rhône. Again.
It's probably no secret that France's Rhône Valley is my favorite wine region, and so while any trip there is technically work, it's always a little bit of fun too. I feel very much at home whether on the rolling plateau of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, along broad terraces of Gigondas in the southern portion of this region or on the steep slopes of Cornas, Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie in the north.
I'll be covering both the south and north this time, as I'm making just this one trip to the region this year. This time around, I'll be focusing primarily on the 2010s, which are just being bottled, and I might get an early look at some 2011s as well.
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