Northern Rhône 2020

This is one of two signature reds at the domaine (the other is the Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes). It is a fruit-driven style with density and finesse. A long, gentle maceration draws out subtle liquorice and dark cherry notes with a lovely volume.

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.

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.

The south-facing schist-terraced Les Picaudières vineyard produces age worthy, expressive, sumptuous wines. The 2020 wears a little more new oak than the straight Crozes-Hermitage, and as a result has a richer depth and will require a little more patience. It is focused and vibrant, with a wonderful depth of fruit.

This Syrah comes from old vines grown on the steep slopes in the north of the long, narrow St Joseph appellation, near the domaine in Condrieu. It is dark and brambly, with a brightness and clarity on the palate of crunchy cassis fruit with a twist of licorice.

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.

The final ever vintage from Bernard Faurie, as he finally settles into his well-deserved retirement. And what a way to bow out, with this spectacular 2020 vintage. It is a blend of Greffieux, Méal, and Bessards, three of Hermitage’s finest sites. Full of gorgeous, luscious, fluid fruit density, with mineral detail, light-footed, silky tannins, and a superbly sustained finish.

This Gamay is a revelation. It’s made by one of Côte-Rôtie’s most accomplished winemakers, Guillaume Clusel, whose Syrahs are highly sought-after. Here he turns his hand to the lighter variety of Gamay, making a wine that is so juicy and sweet and full of freshness. It is far more than a curiosity. The vines are grown on the decomposed granitic soils that lie south of Lyon. Its silky tannins and a fresh acidity are perfectly balanced. Great value and utterly delicious.

This is Clusel Roch’s classic blend. Indeed, in previous years it had been called ‘Classique’. It comes from a range of vineyards across the iron-rich soils of the Côte Brune, including Le Plomb, Montmains, and Bas de Coteau. The blend has a Burgundian composure, with red fruit fragrance and a lithe, cool length. A little spice in the background gives it texture and depth.

This vineyard was planted in 1945, and the old vines are treated with huge respect in the Courbis cellar, where Laurent applies a generous 50% new oak to the wine, that is more than matched by the natural density of fruit. This is a big, powerful, broad-shouldered wine. Its 250m elevation helps it retain freshening acidity, which offers a great foundation to the statuesque density of the wine.

This bursts with green pineapple perfume. Both exotic and vibrant. It has a silky, textured palate. It comes from a single vineyard in the south of the appellation, in St Pierre de Boeuf. The east/north-east aspect makes this site cooler than many, and its granite and gneiss soils results in superb mineral tension to the wine.

Sybarine comes from vines very close to the Garon cellar on the Côte Blonde. Its granite soils make for an open, refined, and silky Côte-Rôtie, and is the earliest drinking of the four Garon cuvées. No new oak is used here, and the 2020 has 10% whole bunch fruit. It is peppery and sappy, it is an upfront and bold style of Syrah with black fruit character and savoury length.

This is one of the finest sites of the Côte Blonde, and it produces a wine of huge elegance and subtlety, although you’ll want to tuck it away for a few years before pulling the cork.

This is a fantastic site on the Côte Brune, shared between just three growers. The vines were replanted in 1980 and 2001, and their youthful vigour produces a juicy wine, with a rounded balance. 30% whole bunch and 30% new oak add silkiness and depth.

This comes from four neighbouring lieux-dits on the Côte Blonde: Lancement, La Triote, Le Combard and Le Mollard. They share a high proportion of white schist in their soils, making for an intense, savoury, and long expression. It has 20% whole bunch, and the fruit is glossy and deep.

This is perhaps the wine that needs the most explanation in the Bott cellar. The name may sound unfamiliar, but it’s one to remember. There are great hopes Seyssuel will be elevated to full cru status within a matter of years. The vines are planted just a 10 minute drive from Ampuis on schist and gneiss soils that glisten in the sunlight. There’s no granite here on this side of the river, and the Syrah is floral and pinot-esque, with an elegant texture and a spicy, salty undertow. Kamata is the Maori word for rock or stone, and a nod to Graeme’s Kiwi origins. Much more than a curiosity.

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.

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.

Stéphane Ogier’s reputation is built on his Côte-Rôties. This cuvée is a blend of ten plots, mostly from the northern part of the appellation. It was first created in 2010, with Stéphane wanting to create a blended Côte-Rôtie that has all the signature style and spice of the hillside, but is accessible a little earlier than some of his single vineyard wines that are released later. It comes mostly from his younger vines, between 10 and 30 years old. It is bursting with Syrah black pepper and red currants, with a floral note lifting the palate. Salty tannins carry through onto the finish.

This Vin de Pays comes from vineyards situated just behind the hillside of Côte-Rôtie, on the same granitic soils as the famous slope. It is a floral and dark-berried with a glossy freshness. It’s a great introduction to Stéphane’s Northern Rhône range. A mini-Côte-Rôtie.

Pierre only started bottling this vineyard separately in 2016, and it has since proved it’s a cuvée well-worth following. It comes from a half hectare parcel just north of La Landonne which is home to 80-year-old vines planted by Pierre’s grandfather. He decided to isolate the parcel as he says every year these vines make such a pure and quintessential expression of Côte-Rôtie they deserved their own spotlight. In 2020 it is stridently Syrah, with dark cassis fruit and an aromatic freshness.