The Winery Siffrein Gautier of Rhône méridional of Rhone Valley

In 2001, George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States. Meanwhile in the UK, Tony Blair led the Labour Party to its second landslide victory. A lot can change over the course of 20 years. According to many Rhône winemakers and wine collectors, this is how long a bottle of Hermitage should lay undisturbed until you open it. Is it really worth the wait? I recently tasted 11 Hermitage 2001s – seven red, two white, two sweet – to test the 20 year hypothesis and see how these ...

Not so long ago, most Hermitage was a blend of different vineyards from across the hill. However, since the 1990s we’ve seen an increasing range of single-vineyard wines being made. Getting a handle on the most important sites will help guide you to a style you enjoy, and even if you prefer blended wines, becoming familiar with the individual Hermitage lieux-dits will enrich your drinking experience. Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ tasting notes and scores for seven wines from Hermitage lie ...

Severe frost in early April wreaked havoc across both the northern and southern appellations of the Rhône Valley in 2021, with many producers losing a large majority of their crop. The reds that did materialise tend towards lean, green flavours, because grapes struggled to ripen. A few producers struck lucky, with late-budding varieties or pockets of vineyard less affected by frost. But overall, it is the whites that really shine, showing freshness, precision and longevity. St-Joseph, Vacqueyras ...