Red Chateauneuf and Galets
Many moons ago I had just a passing interest in wine. I liked it but it had not captured my full attention (boy has that changed). I tended to buy wines I liked. I played it safe. And sure, how bad.
I was working with a guy who was seriously into his wine. We got to talking one day and he asked me a series of questions about wines I was buying. It turns out I had a liking for wines from the Rhone, particurally those of the southern Rhone. A couple of days later he walked into my office with a bottle of wine in hand. Try that he said. You will love it.
Lazaret Castle
I looked at the label and it’s name was familiar, though I was sure I had never tried it. It was the Domaine Du Vieux Lazaret Chateauneuf Du Pape. The bottle was the first thing that grabbed me. A picture of a fortress castle, on a high grade paper label. The bottle had the words CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE in bold raised glass with papal symbols also prominent. All this on a very dark, heavy glass bottle. It looked classy, even before I tasted it. [Châteauneuf-du-Pape loosely translates to "The Pope's New Castle" and this appellation has lots of papal conections. In the 1300's, Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon. Hence the raised glass papal symbols on the bottle to this day.]
The wine was wonderful. Deep crimson in colour. Ripe dark berries, turning to spices. Very smooth and persistent with aromatic fullness. I was hooked immediately. Though the alcohol was up there at 14.5%, it was beautifully balanced and not noticeable at all. A really lovely wine.
I started to read a little about the wine and the area. Striking images of the pudding stones (Galets) were amazing. I loved the fact that it was here that the whole system of Appellation Controlee was founded. No machine harvesting allowed and grapes must be sorted by hand. It all seemed to result in a wine of real quality. And then of course, there’s the grapes. Some examples can have 13 different permitted grape varieties. Yep, 13 I kid you not. Grenache is the most dominant in the reds followed by syrah and mourvedre. All grapes I loved. No wonder it was a big hit.
Grenache Vines and Galets
This led me on to other wines from the area. Gigondas, Lirac, Rasteau and Cotes Du Rhone’s all appealed to me and remain some of my favourites to this day. I turned my eyes north where wines from Hermitage, Crozes Hermitage, Cornas, Cote Rotie and St Joseph crept onto my radar. I was amazed at the differences in style and the fascinating stories associated with the Northern Rhone.
Its this diversity of styles (even within a single grape variety) that so appeals to me. You can start off finding a wine you like and then travel down a road of exploration and it can take you to wonderful places and incredible wines. Thats my kind of exploring.
