Northern Rhone Wines

wines

Made from fruit coming predominantly from the Barossa Valley this year (97%) and containing 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 Grange has been added to my list of favorite recent vintages. Deep garnet-purple colored, it’s still a little youthfully mute, offering notes of warm cherries, black currants, anise, coffee and toast with underlying hints of soy, yeast extract, black olives and Indian spices. Tight-knit and solidly structured on the medium to full-bodied palate, the concentrated fruit is densely coiled around the firm grainy tannins and very crisp acidity at this stage, but promises something very special in the years to come. It finishes very long, complex and layered with the cedar poking through the fruit purity. Patience is required for this vintage; it should begin opening out around 2016 and drink to 2030+.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPBeautifully aromatic, with scents of blueberry, plum, cherry, coffee and toasted walnut rising from the glass with intensity. After a hit of tannins the rich, focused fruit flavors take over, showing glints of pepper, mint and cocoa and lingering effortlessly. Best from 2016 through 2030. 2,000 cases imported. — HSWine Spectator | 98 WSContaining 98% Shiraz and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 100% new American oak hogsheads for 18 months, the 2006 Penfolds Grange is tightly wound and dense, possessing a core of smoky black fruits, lots of oak, espresso roast, dried spice, and mineral characteristics on both the nose and palate. Powerful, rich, and beautifully balanced on the palate, with a serious, concentrated, medium to full bodied feel, crisp acids, and a very long, tannic and structured finish, this age-worthy beauty needs a solid 5-8 years in the cellar to fully integrate its components, and should have a very long drink window.Jeb Dunnuck | 96+ JD(98% shiraz and 2% cabernet sauvignon): Deep ruby. Highly aromatic nose offers black raspberry, cherry pit, potpourri and minerals. Dense, lush and sweet but very energetic, offering spicy red and dark berry, dark chocolate, rose pastille and licorice flavors complemented by spicy, sweet oak. Shows bitter chocolate and cherry-cola nuances on the extremely persistent, spice-accented finish. This should be approachable on the young side.Vinous Media | 94 VMNot quite the massive monster that is the 2004 Grange, the 2006 is still no shrinking violet. It’s full bodied, muscular and extracted, and while the flavors veer toward espresso and dark chocolate, there’s also a ribbon of raspberry fruit running through the wine from start to long, dusty finish. Drink 2015–2025, and probably beyond.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEA balanced and intense red, with sliced meat, blackberries and spices. Full body, with silky and refine tannins and hints of new wood. Sweet tobacco and plums. A little shy now. Give it three to four years.James Suckling | 93 JS

Just as good as the de l’Orée, but in a very different style, the medium gold-hued 2006 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc has a complex, layered perfume of honeysuckle, orange blossom, celery seed, caramelized stone fruits, and acacia flowers. Just about pure perfection on the palate, it’s full-bodied, deep, and incredibly concentrated, with a stacked mid-palate, an unctuous, opulent texture, and a gorgeous finish. This is another magical Hermitage Blanc from the genius of Michel Chapoutier. Don’t miss it.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDFrom a warmer micro-climate, the 2006 Ermitage Le Meal blanc boasts extraordinarily intense fruit, glycerin, and tactile impression. Stones, cherries, red currants, quince, and honeyed citrus are all present in this colossal wine that is unctuously textured, very full-bodied, and super-ripe and long. It reveals less noticeable acidity than l’Oree or l’Ermite, and, like Les Granits, it is a wine that can be drunk early, but it should last for 25-30 years.While Michel Chapoutier produces some of the world’s greatest wines from single parcels of old vines spread throughout the northern and southern Rhone (see my ecstatic reviews of his 2007 and 2006 Chateauneuf du Papes in issue #179), he also has an impressive portfolio of value-priced wines that are often over-looked when this impressive producer is discussed. Following are some top-notch picks that all sell for exceptionally fair prices. Chapoutier has not achieved as great as success in Cornas as he has in the other northern Rhone appellations, although his Cornas wines get better with each vintage. There are four extraordinary single vineyard white wines, all of which are among the greatest dry white wines of the world. While all of them can be drunk young, they are meant for extended cellaring. Made from very small yields, they represent the essence of a varietal as well as a vineyard site. As the following notes demonstrate, 2006 was one of the greatest vintages for white wines at Chapoutier. The single vineyard selection parcellaire red wines range in production from 500 to nearly 1,000 cases. 2007 is a very good vintage for these selections, but 2006 has an edge. It is reminiscent of 1996 because of the wines’ freshness and acid levels, but Chapoutier’s 2006s are even more concentrated than his 1996s. Chapoutier’s four 2006 cuvees of single vineyard Hermitage are exquisite. Most of the yields were between 10 and 20 hectoliters per hectare, and the wines are extravagantly rich. The 2006 and 2007 luxury cuvees of Chateauneuf du Pape Croix des Bois and Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac were reviewed in issue #179. They are all astounding wines, especially in 2007.Robert Parker | 99 RPPowerful—and slightly bass heavy for now—with apricot, peach and persimmon notes leading the way, followed by alluring piecrust, salted butter, yellow apple and mineral notes that stretch out the finish. Needs a little time to come together fully, but then should cruise in the cellar. Best from 2010 through 2025. 682 cases made, 100 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 97 WSMedium gold. Deep, pungent aromas of honey, apricot pit and brown sugar, with a subtle lemon rind quality adding vivacity. Rich and fleshy, with nervy acidity lifting the ripe pit fruit and poached pear flavors. Finishes with a jolt of anise. This is very complex.Vinous Media | 93 VM