France - Northern Rhone

Question 1

Cote Rotie AOP

Answer 1

• Est 1940
• Communes:
• Ampuis - main town of the appellation
• Saint-Cyr-sur-Rhône
• Tupin-Semons
• Most important vineyards -
  (all above Ampuis and many facing south)
• Côte Brune
• Côte Blonde
• Wines
• La Mouline
• La Landonne
• La Turque
• Rouge only max 20% Viognier
• Min alcohol - 10.5%
• Producers:
  Guigal, Domaine Jamet, Jaboulet, Domaine Rene Rostaing, Maison Stephan
• La La Wines by E. Guigal
• La Mouline (Cote Blond)
• La Turque (Cote Blond)
• La Landonne (Cote Brune)
• Soil:
  **Côte Brune **(north): Slope covered with reddish-brown soils, enriched with iron.
  Côte Blonde (south): hillside covered with lighter-colored sandy soils and a limestone base
• Viognier typically grown in the south on the blonder soils.
• France’s steepist vineyards, 60 degrees at some vineyards
• Vine training- Vines are traditionally trained up a stake in a style called “echalas”
• Côte-Rôtie wines are grown, produced and matured by the “Centurie de Probus” (Probus’s Centurions), a group of around one hundred dedicated winemakers who look after the vineyards and their 60 estates.

Question 2

Condrieu AOP

Answer 2

• White only-100% Viognier
• Main sub appellation- Cht Grillet
• Min alcohol- 11.5%
• Manual harvesting mandatory, chaptalization prohibited
• Soil - Decomposed granite and the best sites have topsoil made up of mixed chalk, flint and mica.
• Vineyards planted on S/SE facing granite slopes
• Wines claiming “AOC Condrieu Selection des Grains Nobles” must be produced from grapes harvested in tries. Picking begins no earlier than 8 days after harvest.
• Producers:
  Guigal
  Domaine Georges Vernay
  Yves Cuilleron
  Chateau Grillet

Question 3

Chateau Grillet AOP

Answer 3

• Monopole within Condrieu
• 3.5Ha
• 100% Viognier
• Soil: Granitic sand
• Matured in barrel for 18 months

Question 4

St. Joseph AOP

Answer 4

• Est. 1956
• Rouge: min 90% Syrah plus Marsanne/Rousanne
• Blanc: Marsanne/ Rousanne
• Min alcohol: 10.5%
• Majority east facing slopes
• Soil: Best sites are on primary rock formations, consisting of gneiss, granite and mica-rich schist. Ohers are on limestone outcrops, or the alluvial soils of ancient glacial terraces
• Producers:
• Pierre Gonon, JL Chave, Guigal

Question 5

Hermitage AOP

Answer 5

• Est. 1937
• Rouge/Blanc- Syrah, Marsanne, Rousanne
• Vin de Paille (Blanc): Marsanne and/or Roussanne
  Produced only in warmer years, chaptalization prohibited
• Min. 85% Syrah plus max combined Marsanne/Rousanne
• Important Climats:
• L’Hermite, le Méal, les Bessards, Gréffieux, Beaume, and Péléat.
• Minimum Alcohol:
  Blanc: 11%
  Rouge: 10.5%
  Vin de Paille: 19.5%
• Soils: Granite with topsoils of mica, schist and gneiss
• South facing vineyards. Rhone flows east to west
• Producers:

Jean-Louis Chave: Hermitage Rouge: Les Bessards forms the core of this blend of seven climats. Hermitage Rouge “Ermitage Cuvée Cathelin:”A barrel selection done just before bottling, produced only in top years (1990, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2010 to date) and only if the quality of the regular cuvée is not compromised. Inaugural vintage 1990.
Hermitage Vin de Paille: Average 1,000 bottles (375 ml) produced.

Delas: Hermitage “Domaine des Tourettes”: 100% Syrah bottling formerly known as “Marquise de la Tourette,” produced exclusively from Delas’s three Hermitage lieux-dits
* Hermitage “Les Bessards”: produced only in top vintages and sourced from the 1946 plantings on Les Bessards
* Hermitage Blanc “Marquise de la Tourette”: 95% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne

M. Chapoutier:
Ermitage Blanc “De l’Orée”: Marsanne from the oldest vines on Murets
Ermitage Blanc “L’Hermite”: Marsanne from named vineyard; vines over 100 years old
Ermitage Rouge “L’Hermite”: Syrah from older vines on named vineyard
Ermitage Blanc “Le Méal”: Marsanne from named vineyard’s 1910 and 1940s vines
Ermitage Rouge “Le Méal”: Syrah from named vineyard’s 1910 and 1940s vines
Ermitage Rouge “Les Greffieux”: Syrah from named vineyard’s 1940s plantings
Ermitage Rouge “Le Pavillon”: Syrah from 1910s plantings on Bessards

Jaboulet- Hermitage Rouge “La Chapelle”: a barrel selection based around on Le Méal, with Les Bessards, Les Greffieux and La Croix usually key components
* Hermitage Blanc “La Chapelle”: 80% Marsanne, 20% Roussanne from Rocoules. Named for a small hillside chapel that stands in commemoration of Gaspard de Stérimberg, the legendary Crusader-turned-hermit
* Hermitage Blanc “Chevalier de Stérimberg”: 65% Marsanne, 35% Roussanne

Question 6

Crozes-Hermitage AOP

Answer 6

• Syrah, Marsanne, Rousanne
• Min alcohol- 10.5%
• 85% Syrah 15% combined Marsanne and Rousanne
• Soil:
  North: Granitic slopes, similar to Hermitage
  South: Alluvial soils of glacial origin

Question 7

Cornas AOP

Answer 7

• 100% Syrah
• Min alcohol 10.5%
• Soil: Granite
• Manual harvesting is required

Main Lieux Dit- Les Reynards, La Côte, Les Chaillot, and Les Mazards.

• Producers:
• Auguste Clape. The wines are the epitome of the traditional style, aged for extended periods in large oak barrels.
• Thierry Allemand

Question 8

Saint Peray AOP

Answer 8

• Directly south of Cornas
• Blanc and Mousseux only
• Blanc: Marsanne/Roussanne
• Blanc Mousseux is traditional method.

Question 9

Cremant de Die AOP
Coteaux de Die AOP
Clairette de Die AOP

Answer 9

• Cremant de Die AOP - Sparkling Clairette based
• Coteaux de Die AOP - Blanc Clairette based 100%
• Clairette de Die AOP -
  Sparkling Clairette
  Pet-Nat - Muscat à Petits Grains plus Clairette
  Pet-Nat rose - Muscat à Petits Grains plus Clairette and Gamay max 10%