The flavor of wood varnish in wine of Rhone Valley
Discover the of Rhone Valley wines revealing the of wood varnish flavor during the olphactive analysis (nose) and during the gustative analysis (mouth).
The Rhone Valley is a key wine-producing region in Southeastern France. It follows the North-south course of the Rhône for nearly 240 km, from Lyon to the Rhône delta (Bouches-du-Rhône), near the Mediterranean coast. The Length of the valley means that Rhône wines are the product of a wide variety of soil types and mesoclimates. The viticultural areas of the region cover such a distance that there is a widely accepted division between its northern and southern parts.
They are separated quite clearly by a 40 km gap between the towns of Valance and Montélimar, where vines are hardly ever grown. This division is reflected not only in the geography and preferred Grape varieties, but also in the quality and quantity of the wines produced. The smaller, more quality-oriented north focuses almost entirely on Syrah for red wines and Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne for whites, while the larger, more prolific south employs a much longer list of grape varieties. Most notable are the red varieties Grenache and Mourvèdre, which are combined with Syrah to produce the "GSM" blend so characteristic of the southern Rhône.
The De Marchi family established the 56ha estate back in 1956, and it is now firmly established as one of the region’s leading producers. Isole e Olena played a key role in reviving the quality of Chianti in the 1970s, and its flagship wine – Cepparello, a barrique-aged Sangiovese from old vines – is regarded as one of the original Super Tuscans. A Piedmont lawyer called Francesco De Marchi founded the business, but his visionary son – Paulo De Marchi – has driven its rise to prominence. He is r ...
In the UK wine calendar, wine merchants concentrate on selling certain regions at the same time every year. For Burgundy, it’s January; Bordeaux starts in April. Others, like the Rhône, aren’t quite so specific, but merchants do seem to agree that autumn is the right time to turn their attention to this part of France. Following a number of Rhône-focused tastings, and with my full report on the 2021s coming out soon, I have tasted and rated wines that are available to buy in the UK now and my re ...
In November of 2021, Spain’s DO Penedès announced a massive overhaul of their bylaws with many changes aimed at re-orienting the region via a “10-year plan”. One of the key aspects was a new classification system for the estates of the region called, “Vi de Mas”, the first five of which have just been certified. While most wine regions looking to implement a system use the so-called “Burgundian Pyramid” as a structure, Penedès took a different approach that merged some of the Burgundian sy ...