Yesterday to Cairanne for a catch up with Denis Alary and his wife Sabine, as well as a tour of Nick Thomson’s Domaine L’Ameillaud. The Alary estate sits on the road to Rasteau with parcels of vines around the house, across the D69 known as the “Garrigue” and an independant parcel on higher ground nearer the village of Carainne.  Denis Alary, who has taken up the reigns from his father Daniel,  is generally regarded as one of the top 4/5 private producers in the appellation…he is also president of the local syndicate of vignerons. He is the latest in a long line of family members who have made wine here since 1692. The Alary approach if one can summarise is about intensive care in the vineyard, traditional vinification in the winery…for instance Denis stripped out the new stainless steel fermentation tanks some 5 years ago and reinstalled traditional cement tanks because he wasnt happy with the temperature control achievable with the former! He also has no truck with small barrels/new wood…..all maturation takes place in huge old wood foudre for a minimum of eight months. The range comprises red and white AOC Cairanne, these are Grenache and Rousanne dominant respectively, a more tannic/spicy Reserve du Vignerone ou Brunote still Grenache dominant but with 20% Mouvedre, two premium red cuvees the Syrah biassed Font d’Estevenas  ( inky black, blackberry and smoke and notes of Provencal herbs), and the La Jean de Verde , from 60 year old Grenache, a veritable Vin de Garde. We chatted about the current lobbying to elevate Cairanne from CduR Villages status up to a full cru…Denis’s opinion is that yes it will happen , but not before a long draw out process perhaps taking quite a few years yet, that the key issue for the independent vigneron is not for example yield control ( Alary is already producing only 35-38 hl/ha) but the delimitations of which parcels can be AOC Cairanne Cru , which simply CduR or even Vin du Pays. As every producer here like Alary owns a mosaic of land ( something he argues is a real net benefit- the art is in the assemblage of these diverse terriors) this is going to be a tricky one to manage with the authorities.  (more…)

Yesterday to visit Sylvie Vacheron owner of the Chateauneuf du Pape Le Clos du Caillou estate that captured a lot of wine press headlines in 2007 for their superb CduP and Cotes du Rhone. Sylvie Vacheron manages this fascinating estate with the help of her oenologist Bruno Gaspard, folowing the tragic accidental death of her partnerJean-Denis in 2002. The estate of 53 hectares is located just to the east of Courthezon on the very (north east) border of the CduP appellation boundary. In fact the property itself and a large part of the estate is in Cotes du Rhone AOC - though as Sylvie explains the demarcation line separates by a few metres identical vines, identical  assemblage, and no doubt the same fastidious attention in the winery - the consequence of which is that the Cotes du Rhone range here is only a whisker away from the quality levels of the Chateauneuf du Pape and at around half the cellar door price represents tremendous value for money. The terroir here is either sand or red galets - wines produced from the latter parcels , whether CduP or Cotes du Rhone, are branded Quartz. Caillou is very much about reds - less than 1 hectare is given over to whites. The range comprises an entry level Cotes du Rhone from 90% Grenache, a  ”Bouquet des Garrigues” Cotes du Rhone from 50 years + old vines and 85% Grenache, “Les Safre” a secial cuvee Cote du Rhone from sandy parcels of land, a special Cotes du Rhone cuvee Les Quartz from the galet strewn oldest part of the domaine , and then the two Chateauneuf du Pape cuvees, the traditional regular cuvee and the premium Quartz. The latter is again Grenache dominant, receives  a 33 day fermentation in wooden cuves , maturation is in foudre and large wooden cuves for 12 months. The Syrah component is matured in new barriques for a full 18 months. Jancis Robinson’s assessment  of the 2004 : ” The red Quartz bottling positively vibrates with minerality and shows great intensity”. The wine was awarded 5 stars …one of only 3 in a tasting of several hundred CNduP… in the December 2007 Decanter magazine tasting. This is a hugely impressive range of wines from a passionate and dedicated team  - and one that due to the geographical layout of the estate, affords wine lovers remarkably high quality at price points from just 6.5 euros through to 71 euros!  (more…)

On friday Jude and I treated ourseles to lunch at Les Abeilles (www.abeilles-sablet.com)  at Sablet. This restaurant was opened in 2004 by Johannes Sailler after he and his wife had already made a name for themselves at Gigondas’s L’Oustalet. We had a very pleasant meal from start to finish including ( myself ), the Provencal speciality Pieds et paquets…prepared in the style of Pierre Hiely - the famous founder of the Hiely-Lucullus restaurant in Avignon. This is a dish never to be forgotten, love it or loath it…its key ingredients : mutton feet and mutton tripe with a tomato, onion , herb and garlic sauce. Heres a recipe thanks to www.saveursdumonde.net

To accompany we had a bottle of Goubert’s ( www.lesgoubert.fr) white Sablet Cotes du Rhone Villages, the bottom of his range but what a stunning wine for the price. Lovely depth of stone fruit flavours and balancing crisp acidity.  Just had to stop off at his caveau on our return to purchase a case. 

We have a wine appreciation course taking place here at La Madelene in late April ( 28th - 1st May)and again in October ( 6-9th). These events are somewhat different to the holidays featured on this web-site as Grape Train in Provence is very much aimed at tasters who want to expand their wine education…the emphasis will be on Atelier tuition, but also incudes Domaine visits and tastings. The course is run by myself and fellow WSET Diploma graduate, Associate of the Insitute of Wine and Spirits , and approved wine instructor Lisa McNulty who runs Grape Train in the UK.  The course is over 4 days , 3 nights , will…obviously…major on wines from our region, but also includes comparitive tastings with other wines ( eg Rhone Syrah vs. Australian Shiraz, Rhone Grenach vs Spanish Garnacha etc). Prices are kept to a minimum to attract “students” of all means…just £495 singles/£395 room sharers including transfers, accommodation, all meals, tuition, wines tasted and domaine visits. Contact Lisa on 00 44 1273 557589 or talk to us here at La Madelene: e-mail = rhonewineholidays@googlemail.com, or mobile 00 33 675788497. I have a detailed itinerary i can send any interested customers.

Yesterday to friends Paul and Roslyn at Mollans for a tea party and the Epiphany ceremony of the Galette de Roi. We were joined by three french couples and their children. The Galette de Roi is a frangipan cake which is prepared for the first sunday after Christmas. Like the sixpence in the Christmas pudding the tradition is that one slice contains a figurine and the person who finds it gets to wear the Kings Crown ( but by doing so undertakes to provide the cake for the following year). Following tradition a child…this year young Zoe…. was posted under the table and by tapping each guest’s foot in turn indicated who should receive the next slice. This year our own Lily to her delight ended up with the crown and the figurine. What with earl grey tea, home made biscuits and fairy cakes this was a very civilised occasion. Good fun.

The vignerons of Cairanne believe their long campaign to persuade the INAO they are worthy of full Cru status is almost over. Its been a long struggle. As Denis Alary, their president, said in the paper this week  ” It’s been 30 or 40 years that we’ve been talking about Cru status”. If they succeed as Beaumes-de-Venise (reds) did three years ago they will become the 7th Cru in the Southern Rhone alongside Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Beaumes-de-Venise, Vaqueyras, Lirac and Tavel. The prize is about both recognition for their efforts and the potential to command higher market prices. The cost? More stringent AOC regulations governing harvesting ..manual only…; elimination of certain chemical treatments; pruning rules; and yields resticted to 40 hl/ha. Would the elevation of Cairanne be justified? Most commentators seem to think so…and my tasting  of such great producers as Alary, Marcel Richaud, and Corrine Couturier at Rabasse Charavin suggests this village produces wines of at least equal importance of those at Vaqueyras and arguably superior to most produced at Beaumes-de-Venise. Bon chance M. Alary and your colleagues!Some facts and figures: Cairanne is located on the D8  between Bollene and Vaison and just to the west of Rasteau. The Cotes-du-Rhone Villages AOC was created in 1929 at the same time as the co-op. There are 120 producers, 90 of whom have their wine made at the co-op the remainder under their own name. Production is 28,000  hl of which 95% is red ( but whites…especially those from Rabasse Charavin can be excellent).

Seasons greetings! We have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and Nerw Year break here at La Madelene…lovely to see family here again - all together. The week passed in a blur of activity starting with an exhausting night trip to Lyon airport ( the signage to which is a national disgrace….made worse by thick fog), wood chopping and last minute food acquisitions on Christmas eve, a truffle hunting expedition on Christmas morning..alongside neighbour Benoit and his hunting dog Leo ( haul= around 180 gms , not bad for 30 minutes with a market price of 1500 euros per kilo), driving practice on the slopes of Ventoux for Josh who has just passed his test, thursday evening dinner at St. Hubert in Entrechaux …always a treat, Lobster following Fruits de Mer.., shopping with the girls in Avignon, and yesterday a visit to our namesake the monastry at Madeleine to hear the benedictine monks perform Gregorian chants ( and afterwards buy a few loafs of their superb breads from the shop).  In the middle of all that lot we had an unexpected or at least earlier than scheduled visit from the tree surgeon ( on boxing day for heavens sake - sacrilage!) to prune our plane tree and remove an unwanted horse chestnut. We havent exactly gone short of some fine food over the period : daube of biche on the 24th ( female venison) , roast pintade with thyme and pomegranate stuffing for Christmas day lunch, oysters and a loup de mere/crab aioli, black truffle tagliatelli, confit de canard with jude’s famous waxy potatoes and ceps gratin recipe! For dessert we were treated to such delights as jude’s polenta and almond cake, a traditional trifle with Harvey’s Bristol Cream, and daughter-in-law Helen’s Panettone Cake and butter pudding. Oddly I dont feel stuffed….must be all that wood chopping to keep two hungry log fires going. For the record some Christmas wines consumed : Reds = Vieux Donjon 2000 CNduP …hit the spot with the rich daube, Gigondas St. Cosme 2005 ( too early), Chateau Troplong Mondot 1997 …much admired, an under-rated vintage. Whites = Grand Cru 2005 Alsace Riesling from Weinbach (truely fantastic wine, but arguably not so well matched with oysters), 2000 Hermitage from the Tain coop - a bargain, an unfortunately out of condition Chassagne Montrachet 2001 from Michel Niellon, and my “piece de resistance” for the season - Goubert’s Le Favoris …a rich and exotic Roussanne/Viognier cepage.. a brilliant partner for the Christmas day guinea fowl.