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Pinch Me, a Flight of Classic Northern Rhone Reds
Do you have a shop in your town that runs serious tastings? We’re lucky to have several venues in Minneapolis, one of which is Sunfish Cellars. In addition to basic classes, Sunfish regularly offers deep explorations into serious wines.  Tonight we sampled wines from a number of classic Northern Rhone winegrowers, including J. L. Chave, Allemand, Voge, and Gonon.  Even though these wines were young, we had the opportunity to compare them and form our own opinions.  Surprise! One of our participants brought a ’99 Allemand to try with the flight.  What a treat! Click on any photo to start the slideshow.

An impressive lineup: JL Chave, Gonon, Allemand, Voge

Hermitage Blanc as a starter wine? I don’t think so. Expressive now, will be great in 15 years.

Out of my price league, depth and complexity were clear. Even young, this was a wine to savor.

A bit more depth and herbs on the left, grapey flavor w/ good aging potential on the right.

One of the “students” brought the ’99; what a treat to taste young vs. evolved.

More grapey on the left, less on the right.

Wine on the left was served blind. We guessed new world, cool (not cold) climate.

My victory of the night. Nailed it.

I had an unfair advantage, Sunfish had offered this recently and I’ve had a bottle. Hero move to proclaim: 2001 Syrah from Italy!

For me, this tasting really brought home a common characteristic of cool/cold climate Syrah.  There was a certain aroma that the Northern Rhone Syrah’s had that the South African and Italian ones lacked. I also get it in Syrah’s from the far Sonoma Coast in California.  Our noses are weird and I’m sure you would read it differently.  It seems similar to the wet cardboard smell of a corked wine, but not quite.  Unfortunately, I once poured two perfectly good bottles of a cool climate Syrah down the drain, having mistaken them for being corked when they were just cold climate wines.  Oops!

At the conclusion of the class, I wanted to try one more wine.  I picked up an extra bottle of the JL Chave Selections Offerus St. Joseph ($30 !).  This is their negociant wine, made with purchased grapes or grapes from young vines in their estate vineyards. This is the wine to drink while you let the Domaine wines age.  It was very nice, and showed the Northern Rhone character, although it didn’t display the complexity of the wines sampled earlier in the evening.  Still, it was a wine I am happy to drink anytime.

It’s not an estate wine, but it’s awfully nice and affordable!

Do you have a favorite venue for tasting new and interesting wines where you live?  Let’s hear about it!

After Erin Cannon Chave visited last year, we had the opportunity to vist their estate in France last year.  We’re forever J.L.Chave fans.

Erin Cannon Chave visit to Minnesota

Our visit to J.L.Chave at Hermitage, the cellars at J.L Chave, and our quick visit to Tain L’Hermitage.