TN: Southern Rhones

Tasting notes on a luncheon sampling of Southern Rhone Wines

We had an interesting bunch of wines sitting out al fresco (I guess that considering the subject matter, that should be “en plein air”.

2016 Alain Voge St. Péray Les Bulles d'Alain Petillant – from the north, nit south, but a nice starter nonetheless.Medium colour with some ripe fruit and hints of mushroom and a long clean finish. 100% marsanne

2022 Château Pégau Côtes du Rhône Blanc Cuvée Lône – medium yellow with a nice floaral nose slightly oily mouth feel and clean dry finish.

1989 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition – pale wine with orange highlights, delicate floral and faint tar notes, a nice older wine.

2005 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape – darker, nice nose of sweet fruit and some nice berry and fruit notes. Elegant and tasty.

1995 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape – a very tasty wine at an ideal spot in development, showing excellent length and mushroom,, meat and dark fruit notes. Benefits of keeping a cool cellar!

2012 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape – very dark and very corked.

2013 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape – very dark wine with nice fruit driven nose, soft tannins and good length

2011 Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac – very dark with a complex nose that included sweetness and spice plus meaty notes, long finish – very good.

Surprisingly no red wines other than CNduP this time.

[Jenise]

Some comments:

2016 Alain Voge St. Péray Les Bulles d'Alain Petillant – I owned this and the '17 and my earlier bottles weren't the color of ginger ale, as this was, and I thought it had a slightly bitter finish. It was enjoyable but it's showing its age.

2022 Château Pégau Côtes du Rhône Blanc Cuvée Lône – My wine, and I loved it! Fresh, interesting and complex with casaba melon, kiwi and pineappale, definitely not the usual Southern Rhone suspects. Rather it's several of the lesser known varieties including bobolenc, grenache blanc and clairette.

1989 Bosquet des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Tradition – Sorry to be hard on your wine but I found this on the doorstep of necrotic. Not horrible, but in decay and definitely past its due date.

2005 Domaine Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape – What you said, very nice.

1995 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape – Everything you said, really delightful.

2012 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape – What you said.

2013 Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape – Again, what you said.

2011 Chapoutier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Barbe Rac – Also my wine. And not as dark or purple-ish as the wine above (probably the result of being 100% grenache vs. a syrah blend), but more transparent with an orange-garnet hue. Shows ideal secondary development, and WOTN for most.

thanks both for interesting notes. I drink much less CdP that I used to, and think all I have left are a few scattered bottles of Beaucastel, Charvin, and Mont Redon. But when they are not overly fleshy/hot they can be quite fun.