Northern Rhône 2020

Alain Voge’s pithy sparkling wine, Les Bulles d’Alain, is unlike anything else we have on our list. It is lively, dry, refreshing, and refined. If you’re in the mood for bubbles, but don’t want the weight of a Champagne, this is the perfect option, and a smart price too. It’s a very good example of why Saint-Péray has built its renown for sparkling wines.

This is the second of the domaine’s signature cuvées (the other is Cornas Les Chailles). It comes from, unsurprisingly, the old vines which are planted further up the slopes at altitudes ranging from 250-400m. Small amounts of whole bunch fruit (20%) add freshness and silkiness. In 2020 it benefits further from fruit that usually goes into a single vineyard cuvée, La Chapelle St Pierre, but because volumes were so small, it has been blended in here, adding extra lift and volume to the fruit. This wine shows superb old vine intensity, with density and precision in its notes of tapenade and cassis.

Alongside their impressive reds, this domaine makes wonderful still whites from Marsanne in Saint-Péray. 2020 is a year to snap up this cuvée, Ongrie, as sadly none at all has been made in 2021. The parcel sits just behind the village, near the river. The vines are over 50 years old and enjoy the clay soils here. It shows Marsanne’s satisfying bitterness and mouth-watering freshness, supported by subtle new oak, giving it a Burgundian feel. Notes of dried honey and lavender make it a stand out white Rhône.

This domaine only makes one wine, and they throw everything they’ve got at it. It is a blend of five parcels across the Côte Blonde and Côte Brune. They are the only domaine still producing just one blend in Côte-Rôtie. But they are fully justified in continuing this tradition; the quality of this wine speaks for itself. 2020 is the first vintage with talented Pierre Burgaud in sole charge, after a smooth handing-over from his father, Bernard. This vintage has deep concentration and wonderful acidity. Pierre calls it ‘exceptionnelle’, and we quite agree. He suggests it will have two drinking windows: one early on, in its first year or two, and another after a decade in the cellar.

This is a standout wine in the appellation, and one of the best value wines on our Rhône list. Stéphane Rousset’s vines are all clustered in the northern sector of the appellation on granitic soils at high altitude (between 120-300m). This 2020 has such a charming red berry fleshy fruit, sweetly scented, with fine little tannins and a refreshing acidity. All in all, a very complete, balanced and charming wine.

If André’s straight Condrieu is the benchmark, then this is a wine that transcends its category altogether. The vines here are approaching 70 years old, and the wine has a lifted salty aroma taking it to another level altogether. So much tension and persistence on the palate.

This is so zesty and vibrant, with a beautiful orange zest and floral scent. The palate is silky and mineral - a combination that André Perret, and now his daughter Marie with him, have a dab hand at conjuring from the Viognier grape.

This is the most intense and refined of the Cornas wines in the Courbis cellar. It comes from a vineyard planted in 1990, and the vines have produced such a balanced freshness and smoky depth in 2020. It has great ageing potential if you have the patience, but also great driven freshness if you choose to approach it early. Hugely elegant.

This comes from fruit grown on granitic slopes in the heart of Cornas. It is always the most floral and forward of the Courbis Cornas wines. The 2020 has a lovely dark berry lift on the nose, and a rich mineral depth on the palate. Salty and wonderfully poised along its length.

This comes from old vines planted in the historic vineyard of Rocoules. It is powerful and deep, and will certainly benefit from a few years in the cellar.

This is a blend of two parcels and is the hidden gem of Sorrel’s range. 20% comes from Bessards, and 80% from Les Plantiers, just below Le Méal. These vines produce fruit with real power, and this wine has a great presence. But the floral tones and salty fruit make it more accessible than the Gréal, and mean it should start to open up a little earlier.

This is grown in kaolinite soils, a clay-limestone soil that only accounts for around 1% of Crozes-Hermitage. These white soils result in highly mineral wines. Always peppery and juicy, with tapenade notes and spiced fruit.

Although Domaine Ogier is based in Ampuis in the Northern Rhône, Stéphane has made one very savvy investment in the South. From a site near Cairanne he produces this brilliant value Cotes du Rhône. It delivers fantastically juicy, lightly grippy length, with an abundance of sweet red fruit flavours, thanks to the 60% Grenache in the blend, which is filled out with 40% Syrah. It has smooth, attractive tannins thanks to the high proportion of whole bunch used in its fermentation.

This is quite possibly Côte-Rôtie’s most famous vineyard. In Pierre Rostaing’s hands this 2020 is dense and grippy, with a sophisticated restraint. Powerful and captivating.

This is a blend of 15 different parcels around Cornas, which Stéphane vinified separately, only blending at the final moment before bottling. This makes for a complexly layered wine that is defined by its silkiness and luscious length, as well as its great freshness.

This comes from three parcels of 100-year-old vines in Champelrose, Eygats, and Combe. It is intense, and incredibly elegant on the nose, with mineral, saline, iodine notes. The palate shows voluptuous tannins which wrap around the deep red fruit, creating a mouth-coating texture.

Pur Noir is only ever a single parcel, and only ever made in the best years. The parcel changes each time, depending on Stéphane’s preference. In 2020 it was drawn from La Combe, and only a few barrels were made. This south-facing slope creates a sensational wine, with depth and flare.

This is an explosive, wild Hermitage, with youthful energy and tension. The nose and palate are drenched in blue and black fruits, liquorice, graphite and spice. The oak needs a little while to fully integrate, so don’t attack this too soon. Instead, tuck it away, and in a few years, the seamless, sinewy might of Hermitage will emerge. The name comes not from a parcel, but from the small stone house with blue shutters that sits in the vines at the eastern end of the Hermitage hill.

This comes from the vineyards of the Côte Blonde, and is built around a silky, sensuous black fruit character. Mineral, tight, and vibrant in character.

From granitic soils behind the hill of Hermitage, this is a powerful and intense yet perfectly balanced Crozes. There’s a mineral structure, with very fine tannins and quite a floral, herby character.

This is one of our favourite wines from Jaboulet, as it is for the Freys and it certainly was for the Jaboulets. It was the first vineyard the Jaboulet family bought in 1834, and although much of its 40 hectares has been replanted since the war, a high proportion of old vines remain here. Indeed, the vineyard manager thinks Thalabert may well be the largest planting of old Syrah vines in the world. Whilst it might not have the pedigree of La Chapelle, in terms of pure pleasure and great value, this is one of the most exciting wines in the Jaboulet stable. It has the sweet aroma of vanilla-sugared berries on the nose and a fragrant sappy freshness on the palate giving it a herbal depth and persistence. Juicy, savoury, and with the structure to age extremely well.