Sep 7, 2019
Rhone tasting
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Rhone tasting
Santa Barbara’s University Club played host to an eye-opening survey of 25 white wines.
Discover Rhône’s Best Wines with 67Wine
Let 67Wine take you on a flavorful journey through the Rhône Valley. Whether you're exploring robust Grenache blends or fresh Côtes du Rhône wine, our selection is crafted for the curious wine lover.
WELCOME TO CURTIS WINERY
We specialize in Syrah, Grenache, Viognier and other artisan Rhône-style wines from Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley. Here, we put down roots as one of California’s first wineries dedicated exclusively to Rhône-style wines. Since then, nothing has changed. We still live for Rhônes.
Watch Ernst Storm at cdsavoia.com this Monday.
The Closest Thing to Bacon Wine
The Northern Rhone makes some monster wines. Planted by the Romans, the steep hillside vineyards have some of the oldest vines in France. Syrah dominates these meaty, mouth-filing reds, which are sometimes topped off with a touch of Viogner for levity and bouquet. Think of a greased-up body builder – with a sensitive side.
Many of the region's best vineyards are in its northernmost appellation: Côte Rôtie or "roasted slope." On top of their power, these vines set themselves apart with strong perfumed aromas and more delicacy than some of their punch-you-in-face friends.
The 2007 Pierre Gaillard Côte Rôtie was no exception. Its nose was “peppery” with “violets” and “blackberry.” “Pepper” dominates again on the palate, but impressive “balance” stands tall. It’s hard to achieve that kind of “focus” in a “brawny” Syrah, but Pierre Gaillard came through with “moderate” and “gentle” tannins.
Another unique feature: “meaty” flavors like “bacon fat.” I second that. This Côte Rôtie didn’t make me pine for a steak, I felt like I was having a steak dinner with a bacon & chive baked potato all in my glass.
The newest addition to our 10 wine, two chocolate flight at Seven of Hearts in Carlton
"There are wines at Yapp Brothers that you simply can not find anywhere else.” Daily Telegraph
Since it was founded in 1969, Yapp Brothers wine merchants has led the field in bringing delicious, distinctive french wine to customers who are looking for something different. Over the past forty years the company has carved an enviable reputation both for an extremely high-quality portfolio of wines that are produced in modest quantities and for first-class customer service. Widely recognized as the UK’s leading specialist in wines from the Rhône, Loire and Provence, our agencies include well-established domaines such as Jean-Louis Chave, Georges Vernay, Patrick Jasmin, Auguste Clape, Alain Graillot, Sancerre André Vatan, Le Vieux Donjon, Trévallon and Jasper Hill. Although the company has broadened its range to include wines from the Alsace, Provence, Champagne, the Savoie, Languedoc, Roussillon, the Midi, Corsica and Australia, the Yapp ethos of sourcing the finest examples a region has to offer, remains unchanged. In addition to a growing website, Yapp Brothers runs a lively shop (open between 9am and 6pm Monday to Saturday) at its premises in Mere, Wiltshire, which also serves as the base for an efficient mailorder operation. As well as providing wine, cellaring and advice to private customers, Yapp Brothers supplies many of the best restaurants in the UK (see Restaurants where you can find our wine) and hosts a range of tastings & dinners at these establishments around the country. You can remain updated on developments chez Yapp – Sales, Tastings and Offers by signing-up to the regular email newsletter on the site. “My advice is to get on Yapp’s Email mailing list and you’ll hear about everything first.” Daily Mail
Holding Your Breath For A Wine's Second Night
There aren’t too many $20-and-under wines I’ve tasted that show better the second night than the first. And even after experimenting with vinous tools that proclaim to increase the longevity of a wine--such as the Vacuvin--these are usually quite otiose. Like a man with a broken heart, most of these wines on the second day have lost their fervor, precision, and libido they were brimming with on day one.
For the past two nights I have been tasting the 2006 E. Gugal Crozes-Hermitage. On the first night I thought the wine was a pretty good expression of Crozes-Hermitage's typicity--aromas of cracked pepper and gamy cured meat wafted from the glass, sporting a slightly leaner frame than its more mature and studly brother, Hermitage. If you can fathom blending one pound of black peppercorns, a slab of bloody vension meat, burnt rubber shavings, raspberries, blackberries and a handful of violet petals into a funky elixer of sorts, you would have some understanding of this wine's flavor profile. And I swear, mom, it's good!
But I wasn't thrilled with its oral character. In actuality, the flavors on the mid palate were quite meek, perhaps caught between the small crescendo of tannins that built upon the palate. And the finish wasn't much better, either; it was bereft of a certain precision. Imagine yourself sneezing without covering your nose. Certainly your germs wouldn't travel in a focused, tightly knit, linear trajectory across the room; they would scatter outwardly the farther they got from your nostrils. Those microbes would roam wherever they wanted, and that's what the finish was like for me: unorchestrated.
Certainly, I assumed, this wine couldn't possibly withstand the elements and express itself even remotely well on night two. But tonight I was proved wrong.
Night two was even better than night one. A full 24 hours later, this wine's mid palate filled out, becoming more expressive, ample, and harmonious; and the finish became more incisive. Just as mom's famous beef stew is good on the first night, it always seems to transcend its original form after spending the night in the refrigerator, marinating in its own juices. By night two it has garnered more flavor, tenderness, and integration. And so too did this wine.
2006 E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage
12.5% alc--$20--Rating: B+
Meaty, earthen, and peppery, this Crozes-Hermitage boasts all the feral, smutty scents that syrah is reknowned for. Amongst the cracked pepper, burnt rubber shavings, and raw game, raspberry and blackberry fruit are accented with a corsage of violets and narcissus. The tannins build like a small crescendo across the palate, but with air they are filed down and the wine becomes more plump and flavorfully expressive.