Greetings,
We're on for tonight, 6:30, at Auriga.
The remodelling is finished and we have a reservation for
8 people. Can probably find room/places for more people
w/o too much trouble.
Auriga Rest.
1930 Hennepin Ave,
Mpls, 55403
612-871-0777
Who's coming to dinner:
Bob
Betsy
Dave T.
Russ and maybe Sue.
Jim and Louise
No's from Warren/Ruth
and from Annette Stadelman.
Update on Matt's father. Been a bit up and down as they
dial in his medications. Family's in town. She/they hope
to re-join us soon, perhaps next week.
Here's some general info on S. France.
Cheers,
Jim
----- Forwarded message from The 30 Second Wine Advisor <wine(a)wineloverspage.com> -----
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Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2005 16:21:34 -0500 (EST)
To: jellings(a)me.umn.edu
Subject: The 30 Second Wine Advisor - WT101: The South of France
From: The 30 Second Wine Advisor <wine(a)wineloverspage.com>
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THE 30 SECOND WINE ADVISOR, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005
________________________________________________________________________
TODAY'S SPONSORS:
* FRENCH WINE EXPLORERS Join Robin Garr in the Rhone in June!
http://www.wine-tours-france.com/RhoneValleyWineTour.htm
* CALIFORNIA WINE CLUB Treat Yourself!
http://www.cawineclub.com?Partner_ID=winelovers
________________________________________________________________________
IN THIS ISSUE
* WT101: THE SOUTH OF FRANCE Our monthly tasting program features the
Rhone, Provence and Languedoc.
* E. GUIGAL 2000 SAINT-JOSEPH BLANC ($24.99) Diving right in with a
report on a rich, aromatic Northern Rhone white.
* ADMINISTRIVIA Change E-mail address, frequency, format or unsubscribe.
________________________________________________________________________
WT101: THE SOUTH OF FRANCE
During the 3 1/2 years since we began the Wine Tasting 101 program, our
monthly topics have almost always featured a specific grape variety or
type of wine, from our initial focus on a Cotes-du-Rhone in June 2001 to
last month's celebration of dessert wines.
This month, figuring it's time for a change of pace, we're experimenting
with a new direction, featuring a wine region for a month of tasting and
informal study in the friendly online environment of Wine Tasting 101.
Let's begin with the South of France, one of my personal favorite wine-
producing and travel regions, where I'll be leading a French Wine
Explorers tour of wine enthusiasts in June.
For purposes of this month's study, we'll focus on three broad Southern
French regions: Languedoc, Provence and the Rhone. If you visualize the
historic city of Avignon on the Rhone River at the center of a rough
triangle with its base along the Mediterranean shore, Provence lies to
the east and south, from the mouth of the Rhone past Marseilles and Nice
to the Italian border. Languedoc stretches from the Rhone west to
France's border with Spain; and the Rhone Valley - where we'll be
touring in June - reaches north from Avignon along the east bank of the
river, mostly, from Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the Cotes-du-Rhone through
Cote-Rotie to Hermitage.
Although each of these regions bosts its particular wine traditions and
terroir, you'll find some family kinship among their wines, and many
wine-grape varieties are familiar throughout: Syrah, Grenache,
Mourvedre and Carignan among the reds; Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier
in the whites. The reds tend to be full-bodied and hearty, featuring
peppery, "meaty" and even "gamey" flavors. The whites at best are full,
aromatic and rich, and the ros� wines crisp, tart and bone-dry,
deliciously fruity and herbally complex. Many of the wines of the region
are rustic and quaffable (and generally affordable, even given the
rising Euro); but the standout wines take second place to few others in
terms of quality, elegance, ageworthiness ... and price.
For the top red wines, look for Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cote-Rotie and
Hermitage in the Rhone; Bandol in Provence, and Coteaux du Languedoc,
particularly Pic Saint Loup, in the Languedoc.
Finally, a word about vintage selection: It's worth noting that 2002
ranged from poor to disastrous through much of the region; floods in
Chateauneuf-du-Pape literally wiped out much of the crop, and by and
large, '02 red Rhones that reached the market have been lackluster. It
wasn't quite so bad in the Languedoc, but in general it's a year to
avoid. In contrast, 2003 was a heat wave year over much of France,
yielding ripe crops that made full, powerful wines, easy to like
although tending toward the alcoholic and "New World" in style.
Couple all this with the rising price of the Euro against the dollar,
making recent vintages increasingly pricey in the U.S., and you'll find
a lot of retailers, depending on availability, still holding on to
supplies of the generally good 2000 and 2001 vintages. Buy with care,
but in evaluating older wines, consider the environment at your wine
shop and avoid bottles that may have been displayed upright or in
sunlight or kept at warm temperatures.
In place of the usual "benchmark" wines, you're encouraged to try any
wines of the region that interest you, and to post your comments and
questions about them on the Wine Tasting 101 Forum.
If you wish to look for some of the wines that I'll be tasting and
reporting this month, here's my lineup:
RHONE:
* E. Guigal 2000 Saint-Joseph Blanc ($24.99)
* Domaine de la Mordoree 2003 Cotes-du-Rhone ($14.99)
* E. Guigal 2000 Cotes-du-Rhone ($13.99)
* Domaine la Montagnette 2001 Cotes-du-Rhone ($9.99)
LANGUEDOC:
* Domaine Leon Barral 2001 Faugeres ($19.99)
* Mas Amiel 2002 "Notre Terre" Cotes du Roussillon Villages ($12.99)
* Chateau Lauret 2001 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup ($11.99)
* Hugues Beaulieu 2003 Coteaux du Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet ($8.99)
PROVENCE:
* Mas de Gourgonnier 2002 Les Baux de Provence ($12.99)
* Domaine de Fondreche 2003 "Instant" Ros� ($9.99)
Now, let's get the topic off to a flying start with my report on a
recent tasting of an exceptionally fine white Rhone from Saint-Joseph, a
Northern Rhone appellation on the west side of the river, opposite
Hermitage.
________________________________________________________________________
E. GUIGAL 2000 SAINT-JOSEPH BLANC ($24.99)
Clear gold in color, bright and showing no sign of age, this rich white
Northern Rhone is probably predominantly Marsanne, although neither the
label nor the Website discloses the blend. Its delicious and complex
aroma features mixed white fruit with hints of almonds, honey and
tobacco leaf. Full-bodied and rich in flavor, there's a pleasant whiff
of toasted almonds behind abundant fruit, with plenty of zippy acidity
for structure and food-friendliness. U.S. importer: Ex Cellars Wine
Agencies Inc., Solvang, Calif. (Dec. 31, 2004)
FOOD MATCH: This rich, food-friendly white would go well with a broad
range of poultry or pork dishes and flavorful preparations of seafood
and fish. It also made a fetching companion with a vegetarian dish from
another part of the Mediterranean: Tuscan-style white beans long-
simmered with fresh sage.
VALUE: The price of this older stock remains fair for a wine of its
character, but watch for the rising Euro to drive up prices of more
recent vintages.
WHEN TO DRINK: Saint-Joseph, like other quality Rhone whites, can age
under decent cellar conditions with surprising grace, gaining richness
and complexity with time. This one, despite presumably less-than-ideal
conditions on a wine-shop shelf, is still youthful even at three years
past its release. If you cellar it, though, taste periodically, as the
oxidative qualities that lend subtlety in small amounts will eventually
turn darkly nutty and Sherry-like as the wine passes its peak.
PRONUNCIATION:
Saint-Joseph = "SawN Zho-zeff"
WEB LINK:
The E. Guigal Website is available in French and English. For the
English-language home page, click
http://www.guigal.com/site/anglais/index.html
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and compare prices for Guigal Saint-Joseph on Wine-
Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Guigal+Saint+Joseph/-/-/USD/A?referring_s…
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Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Copyright 2005 by Robin Garr. All rights reserved.
----- End forwarded message -----
--
------------------------------ *
* Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
Greetings, Happy New Year, etc.
I wasn't in on the discussion, but it sounds like we're doing
N. Rhones at Auriga this week.
Thursday, 6:30. Not sure if the re-mod is finished or if we're in
the back or what.
N. Rhone includes Cote Rotie, St. Joseph, Hermitage, Croz Hermitage
and a few others.
FFI here:
http://www.wine-pages.com/regions/rhoneexp.htm
Cheers,
Jim
The Rh�ne Valley
Continuing a line almost due south of Burgundy lie the vineyards of the Rh�ne valley. This is an area of contrast. In the North, some of the world's longest-lived wines are produced: rare and aromatic whites; tannic and massively structured reds. In the South, a veritable sea of hearty everyday red is produced, but so too are the famous and high quality wines of Ch�teauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas, as well as sweet wines of high quality.
Geography and climate
The Rh�ne river begins life way to the north in Switzerland. As it makes it way down through the length of France it widens to become the central feature of the Rh�ne valley, which spans roughly between Lyons and Avignon.
The Rh�ne valley divides neatly into north/south regions at the town of Valence.
The Northern Rh�ne is a land of steep, steep slopes carved into granite hillsides by the progress of the river over thousands of years. Vines cling to near vertical surfaces, or terraces carved into the rock. It is predominantly a red wine area, but some rare and expensive whites come from here.
Towards the south, the steep slopes give way to a broad valley floor which is baking hot in the summer. An enormous quantity of mediocre red wine is produced, but pockets of superb quality exist. map
Grapes
There are two great grapes of the Northern Rh�ne:
Syrah - the noble red wine grape (often called Shiraz outside France)
Viognier- for white wines and, interestingly, a small proportion of some reds
Marsanne and Roussanne are also grown for white wines.
In the Southern Rh�ne a large variety of grapes is permitted. These include:
Grenache, Syrah, Mourv�dre and Cinsaut for reds
Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, Roussanne and Marsanne for whites.
The great wines of the Northern Rh�ne
� Cephas Along with those in Germany's Mosel valley, the vineyards here are amongst the steepest and most difficult to work in the world. The Northern Rh�ne's finest wines are the Syrah reds: also some of the world's greatest wines. These include the famous, powerful, rich and long-lived duo of Hermitage and C�te-R�tie. The winemakers of the north are largely long-established, family-owned concerns who have worked these daunting slopes for decades.
Hermitage
The famous wine of Hermitage takes its name from the hill of Hermitage above the town of Tain. These are historically regarded as the "manliest" of French wines. Deep, dark and serious, these wines are strapping, tannic and vigorous in youth, developing complexity and finesse as they age over 20 years or more. White Hermitage is also produced, from Marsanne and Roussanne grapes.
C�te-R�tie
C�te-R�tie is an unusual red wine that may contain up to 20% of the white Viognier grape in its blend. This is rarely done however, more often the wines are 100% Syrah. C�te-R�tie shares some of the character of Hermitage, but generally is more approachable when young, is more aromatic, and has a more graceful appeal.
Other red wines
Look out for Crozes-Hermitage, a more easily available wine made from less formidable slopes around Hermitage. It is a Syrah with some of the quality, but at a fraction of the price. The co-operative of Tain l'Hermitage has a good reputation. St-Joseph and Cornas are other Syrahs with strong personality at a fraction of the price of Hermitage. The vineyards sit on the opposite bank of the river.
White wines
The north is also the home of rare and expensive white wines made from the Viognier grape, such as Condrieu and Ch�teau-Grillet. These wines are clean and highly aromatic yet at the same time powerful and full-bodied. They are also very expensive and can be very long lived. Ch�teau-Grillet is highly unusual in that it is an Appellation Contr�l�e that is under the ownership of only one producer.
Top producers include: Guigal, Jaboulet, Chapoutier, Chave, Grippat.
--
------------------------------ *
* Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
