Northern Rhone Flashcards
What is the most southerly AOP of the Northern Rhone?
Saint Peray
What is the soil type of Cornas?
“Gore” - naked granite
What style of wine is produced in Beaumes de Venise AOP?
rouge
How many liters are contained in a demi muid?
600 L
What is the soil type of Condrieu?
“Arzelles” - rich, powdery decomposed mica
Franck Balthazar, Rostaing, Gangloff, Gantaz-Dervieux, JM Stephane
Balthazar - Cornas & Crozes
rest- Cote Rotie
Gantaz (before Rostaing)
Who makes “Ermitage Cuvee Cathelin”
JL Chave, 1990 first vintage, named after artist Bernard Cathelin,
high percentage of Les Bessards lieu-dit, high percentage of new french oak,
200 cases, only in the best years
Put West-East these climats of Ermitage L’Homme, Le Meal, La Varogne, Preleat
La Varogne, Le Meal, Peleat, l’Homme
Top vineyards in Hermitage
Les Bessards, l’Hermite (contains La Chappelle),
Le Meal - all highest up on the SW flank of Hermitage hill - granite vs. recomposed river deposits w/ clay and loess
—— Les Bessards is the most powerful, Meal a bit brighter, gentler
“Cote Rozier” AOC
Cote Rotie
“La Cote” AOC
Cornas
Vin de Paille grapes must dry for a minimum of how many days?
45 days, must reach a must weight of 350 g/L
Best vintage for Northern Rhone from 2000 to 2005?
2001 and 2005 (’02 was very bad lots of rain and rot)
Who owns Chateau Grillet?
Francois Pinault purchased in 2011 from Neyret-Gachet - wines are improving
What do Chateau Grillet and Cornas have in common?
Smallest AOC for white and red in Northern Rhone, Single varietal wines, Vineyards are in ampitheathers (mistral shield),
must be harvested by hand (same for Cote Rotie, Condrieu, Hermitage)
What is the size of Chateau Grillet?
3.5 ha
What is “Serine?” (in the context of cote rotie)
A member of the syrah family of grapes, but distinct for its small grapes which are long and olive-shaped, stems which mature regularly, with less weight and color than syrah but aromatically complex and superior - however the plants are more prone to disease and need to be planted more often (every 30 years) so the grape is becoming less common (only dedicated vignerons doing their own propagations)
Name 3 top producers located in Cornas
August Clape, Alain Voge, Thierry Allemand, Jean-Luc Colombo, Franck Balthazar
What are 4 major lieux dits of Cornas?
Chaillot, Reynard, La Cote, Les Mazards
Champelrose, Le Pigeonnier, Patou, La Gaynale, Thezier, Sauman, Les Saveaux Nord, Les Cotes, Cayret
When did viticulture spread to the Northern Rhone?
1st century CE with the Romans
Producers of Condrieu
Georges Vernay, Yves Cuilleron, Andre Perret, Lionel Faury, Yves Gangloff, Remi & Robert Niero
What is the main grape of Clairette de Die “methode Dioise”
muscat blanc a petit grains - 75% min., min. 35 g/L, 3 atm, 4 mo sur lie (Clairette only for mousseux)
True or False - sparkling wines are more common in Saint Peray than still wines
True (alluvial, some granite over limestone plateaux - sparkling can be good)
What are the aging requirements for Saint Peray?
12 months from tirage (no minimum time on lees required)
What is the max RS for Clairette de Die MT?
15 g (brut)
What are the aging requirements for Clairette de Die MT?
9 months on the lees
What is the encepagement of Cremant de Die?
55% clairette, 10% aligote, 5-10% muscat - max 15 g (brut)
Who are the big 4 producers of Hermitage?
JL Chave,
Delas Freres,
Chapoutier,
Paul Jaboulet
(small producer - Bernard Faurie, Marc Sorrel - Les Raucoules blanc)
What are the wine styles of Chatillon-en-Diois AOP?
reds/roses from gamay (with PN, syrah),
whites from aligote/chardonnay
(west) Cote Brune vs Cote Blonde (east) soil profiles?
micaschist vs. gneiss (split by the Reynaud river)
What are the communes of Cote Rotie?
St-Cyr-sur-le-Rhone, Ampuis, Tupin et Semons
Best Lieux Dits of Cote Rotie (all in Ampuis)
La Landonne, Les Grandes Places, Cotes Rozier
True or False - Cotes du Rhone wines must contain a minimum 30% grenache unless the vineyard is located North of Montelimar?
TRUE - but they must include at least 1 principal or complementary variety (ex. Eric Texier (negociant who studied with Jean Marie Guffens in Verget - Brezeme pure syrah, St Julien en St Alban pure syrah)
What River forms the southern boundary of Crozes Hermitage?
L’Isere
Higher profile St Joseph producers?
Bernard Gripa, Stephane Montez (du Monteillet), Lionel Faury, Andre Perret, Francois Villard, Pierre Gonon, Herve Souhaut, Monier, Coursodon, Courbis
Important lieux dits of Saint Joseph
Les Oliviers, St. Epine, Chalais, St. Joseph, Bachasson
Major merchant houses of the Northern Rhone
Guigal, Chapoutier, Paul Jaboulet Aine
What is the name of the project started by Francois Villard, Yves Cuilleron, and Pierre Gaillard in 1996? Where is it based?
Vins de Vienne, a Seyssuel (vineyard above Vienne - South-facing schist slopes - river jinks west ironically similar to Seyssel in Savoie)
Cuvees are all IGP Collines Rhodaniennes -
Sotanum (syrah),
Taburnum (viognier),
Heluicum (selection made in best years)
Who makes ‘La Landonne’?
Guigal,
Rostaing,
Delas, Jean Michel Gerin,
Xavier Gerard
Who makes ‘Les Grandes Places”?
Clusel-Roch,
JM Gerin,
Pichat,
Stephane Montez
Which of the La la’s came first?
La Mouline - 1966,
La Landonne - 1978,
La Turque - 1985
True or False - Hermitage AOC must be aged in oak barrels
FALSE
Clairette de Die AOP lies on what river?
La Drome
Who revived the style of Vin de Paille in Hermitage?
Gerard Chave in the 1970s
Which AOC produces the highest percentage of white wine - crozes, hermitage, or saint joseph?
Hermitage - around 25% (others are only about 10% of production)
What happened to the AOC of Saint Joseph in 1969?
It was expanded from six communes (Glun, Mauves, Tournon, St Jean de Muzols, Lemps, and Vion) which all have similar granite slopes to Cote Rotie, to 26 communes, many on clay soils, effectively a thirteen-fold increase
What percentage of Rhone Valley wines are made in the Northern rhone?
only 5%
Who is the largest biodynamic winegrower in France?
M. Chapoutier
Who produces organic wines in Cote Rotie?
JM Stephane, Clusel-Roch, Pierre Benettiere, Chapoutier, Stephane Otheguy
Parents of Syrah
mondeuse blanche x dureza
base/appellation/producer/last vintage for following:
Vernillon, Cathelin, Luminescence, Renaissance, Raynard, Pontcin
Jamet/condrieu, Chave/hermitage/2010, Guigal/condrieu/2015, Clape/Cornas, Thierry Allemand/blend of lieux dits, Chateau Grillet (declassed to Cotes du Rhone)
arrange the following styles, most to least whole cluster:
Graillot,
Clape,
Chave
Clape 100%, Graillot 20-30%, Chave full de-stem
Georges Vernay is accredited with saving this grape in the 1960s
viognier
3 100% syrah wines produced in Cote Rotie
La Landonne
2013 Domaine Jamet split between two brothers into
Jean Luc Jamet split to create own label
Rene Rostaing inherited the vines of whom in 1983?
Gantaz-Dervieux (thru marriage)
Who make the following cuvees: Fructus Voluptus, La Mordoree, Ampodium, Ch. d’Ampuis, Chavaroche
Jamet, Chapoutier, Rene Rostaing, E. Guigal (100% new oak), Bernard Levet
Which vineyard is the main ingredient for JL Chave
Les Bessards
Westernmost vineyard in Hermitage? Easternmost?
La Varogne, l’Homme
3 Northern communes of crozes-hermitage with granite soils covered by loess, most similar to the wines of hermitage
Gervans,
Serves sur Rhone,
Tain-l’Hermitage
What two towns mark the northern and southern borders of St. Jo
Vienne to Valence
Benchmark producer of Saint Joseph?
Pierre Gonon
The Crussol ridge is located where in N. Rhone?
limestone spur - Cornas & Saint Peray
IGP for Red & White wines between Vienne & Montelimar
collines rhodaniennes
Most planted white grape of Hermitage?
Marsanne
Commune which can produce St. Jo and/or Condrieu (4)
Limony,
Chavanay,
Malleval,
Saint-Pierre de Boeuf
- all added to Condrieu in 1967
First AOP to harvest grapes in the Northern Rhone?
Cornas
Stream which separates the Cote Blonde from the Cote Brune
Reynard
Cote Rotie using new oak
Guigal,
JM Gerin,
Laurent Tardieu,
Stephane Ogier
Highest elevation of Cote Rotie
1150 ft, 300ish meters
Local name for the Mistral in the North?
La Bise
2 outstanding vintages of the 2010s
2010, 2015, 2016, 2017
Meaning of Les Chaillets?
narrow granite terraces
Marsanne vs. Roussanne
Rounder, richer, marzipan vs.
delicate, aromatic, waxy, more brightness (Roussanne is more finicky to grow)
La Turque soil composition?
combines characteristics of Blonde and Brune - middle bear in power
3 original communes of Condrieu
Condrieu,
Verin,
Saint-Michel-sur-Rhone
Difference in style between Condrieu and Chateau Grillet?
Chateau Grillet allows only dry wines up to max 4 g/L, released after October year following (no aging req for Condrieu), 8,000 vines per hectare (vs. 6,500 for Condrieu)
What is “Vins de Mauve”?
Old name for St. Joseph
Who makes lieu dit Saint-Joseph
Guigal - blanc de Saint Joseph
Hill of Hermitage is an extension of which major geographical feature?
Le Massif Central
l’Hermite lieu dit - 100 yr old pre-phylloxera vines propagated how ? (without grafting onto rootstock)
“Layering” Provignage - vines propagate on their own roots (like Bollinger’s Vielles Vignes Francaises)
Hermitage monopoles
“La Chappelle” Paul Jaboulet,
“Peleat” Chave
La Chappelle from Jaboulet is made of …
Actually a barrel selection based on fruit from Le Meal…
…Greffieux, Bessards, La Croix
La Chappelle the vineyard is owned by Chapoutier “l’Ermite”
Lieu Dit planted to only whites
Maison Blanche, Rocoule, Chante Alouette
Well known producer who makes Bordeaux grapes + syrah from the Northern Rhone?
“Ch Palmer (Margaux):“Historical XIX Century Wine”: 80-85% Bordeaux (50% Merlot, 50%Cab), 10-15% Syrah
1.2004 inaugural vintage, 100 cs. Thomas Duroux’s project.
2.Homage to the kind of blend that was often made in the 19th century
3.Produced 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019”
Who introduced sparkling wine to Saint-Peray?
Louis-Alexandre Faure 1829 - inspired by champagne
Clairette de Die MA is demi-sec to sweet, T or F?
TRUE, min. 35 g/L
All northern Rhone reds must be min. __% abv
10.5%
Northern Rhone white abvs? highest?
Condrieu, Grillet - 11.5%
Hermitage - 11%
Otheres - 10.5%
Jaboulet’s “La Chapelle” is made from what climats?
Bessards, Meal, Greffieux, Raucoules
La Chapelle is a trademarked name, not the source of the wine (climat is part of l’Ermite)
What is flash detente?
Heated grape juice is run through a vacuum, rapid pressure changes help to eliminate unwanted enzymes, compounds, aromas … can also strip character.
Thermovinification is a lower-tech version where the must is heated but not cooled as rapidly
How much neutral grape spirit must be added to Rasteau or Beaumes de Venise?
5-10 % @ 96% abv
