northern rhone Flashcards
what about the climat and grape growing of the northern rhone?
1) narrow and steep
2) vineyards are mainly planted close to the river
3) the best sites occupy steep slopes with a south facing aspect
4) these sites often lies in lateral valleys that feed into the rhone
5) the mistral can do a lot of damage so the vines are assisted by individual stake
6) the climat is notably cooler than the southern rhone
what about syrah ?
1) at this lattitud and with the cooling effect of the mistral, syrah is here at his northern limit to ripe succesfully
2) the most prized sites for syrah are southerly exposureed and are on very steep hills
3) the wines tend to be deeply in colour and have a med to high lvl tann, with black fruit, and sometimes black pepper and floral notes
- the use of oak is depended of the winemaker some use new for the best others use old
4) sometimes they use white varieties to the crus, eg viognier will stabilise the colour and add some aromatic intensity
what do you know about viognier?
1) makes full bodied white wines with perfumed aromas of blossom and apricots, and flavours of stone fruit
- wine tend to have low acidity and high alcohol
2) the grape dont develop it signature aromas until very late in the season when they reached a high level of sugar ripeness
3) new oak is increasingly being used, but it too has to be handled carefully to not overwhelm the primary fruit aromas
4) a small number of wines are made in an off dry style from late harvest
Marsanne has richeness and weight,w hereas roussanne offers acidity and a perfumed fruit character.
true and they can age well and develop complex hazelnut character
What about cotes rotie ?
1) burned slopes
2) syrah and allowes 20 % viognier
3) characteristics:
- deeply coloured
- full body
- high tann
- spicy and the best have an aromatic texture with floral freshness and a textural elegance
What about condrieu?
1) dry white
2) solely from viognier grape
3) the passed years the best wines comes from old vines that ar located on steep, well exposed, terraced vineyards
4) chateau grillet is a cru monopolle
saint joseph:
1) vast majority are reds from syrah and some whites made form marsanne and roussanne
2) the best wines comes fro the terrase slopes near tournon at the western bank of the rhone which can have a flavour intensity and structure similar to hermitage
- - excellent wines can also be produced in the south of condrieu
3) large volumes of relatively light bodied- wines, often made of carbonic maceration come from the more fertile flatter side of the valley floor and the plateau above the slopes
- – these wines can be among the lightest bodied wines of rhone but expressing the pepper perfumed aspects of the syrah grape
hermitage:
1) located on a steep south facing slope behind the town of tain lhermitage its divided into a number of lieu dits
2) they vary in steepness and aspect, which gives wines of subtly different style and body
3) generally the fulliest bodied wines of the northern rhone who age very well
4) 15% marsanne and roussanne is permitted, but now not common anymore and theyre producing white wines of it that now counts for 5 procent of the hermitage wine production
the most app in terms of volume, the vineyards lay in mixed terrain around the hill of hermitage the north of hermitage the hils are:
1) the vineyards are on slopes
2) south the vineyards are on flat plain
3) syrah and 15 % marsanne and Roussanne permitted
4) style depends on vineyard location
- - lighter wines are from the higher yielding flatter sites in the south
- - more concentrated complex and tanic wines comes from the vines growing on steeper slopes to the north
- - some of the more expensive wines may be aged in oak
what can you tell about cornas ?
1) 100% syrah
2) warmest cru region
3) the vineyard lies on the sheltered well exposed sun baked south facing slopes
4) the wines are deeply coloured, full body and in a style and quality similar to hermitage
