Wine:The Côte-Rôtie's vertigo-inducing slopes produce some of the world's best wines, writes Joe Breen
Sometimes you need to see something to fully grasp it - to understand, in this case, the magic and madness of a series of hillsides that are home to some of the great wines of the world. Of course, you don't have to visit the Côte-Rôtie to savour the wines of the northernmost area of the northern Rhône. But seeing the "roasted slopes" of the Côte Brune and Côte Blonde will add to your understanding of this most difficult and complex terroir and increase your admiration for the hard-nosed vignerons who work these small, low-yielding but much-coveted plots on vertigo-inducing slopes overlooking the village of Ampuis, south of Lyons.
The wines of the Côte-Rôtie are red, made with Syrah and up to 20 per cent (though typically much less) Viognier, a white grape used for its beguiling perfume. Legally, the grapes must be fermented together; to make the process easier, the Viognier is grown among the Syrah. The wines are then aged for up to three years in oak - a relatively modern development.
Standing in these ancient granite and schist-lined terraces - the small stepped walls are, apparently, characteristic of the Roman period, 2,400 years ago - and looking down at the majestic Rhône early one cold, blue-skied morning, it is easy to sense the course of history in this small but fascinating area. Stéphane Montez, a leading young winemaker, is showing us an ancient vineyard he has replanted in the past five years and pointing out another, on an opposite slope, where his workers are clearing before replanting. It is back-breaking just to walk up the slope; we can only imagine what it must be like with a basket of grapes on your back. (The resourceful Montez has installed a small monorail to ease the burden.)
Times are good in the Côte-Rôtie. The wines are celebrated, prices are high and demand is endless. But it wasn't always so. After the second World War many vignerons deserted the slopes for the easier money of the factories built for reconstructing France. By the 1960s only about 10 hectares were left in production, and business was dismal. Step forward Marcel Guigal. This local boy's father, Étienne, had founded the family firm in 1946, having worked for the northern Rhône kingpin Vidal-Fleury. But it was his son who prompted the dramatic change in the area, building up a major business led by three iconic wines -
La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque - from single vineyards of the same name.
Today more than 225 hectares of Côte-Rôtie are under vine, admired around the world and imitated as far away as Australia. Guigal is the kingpin, and there are signs everywhere of his success, including the impressive Chateau d'Ampuis, which dominates the quiet village. He has swallowed up vineyards and companies, including Vidal-Fleury. And, with son Philippe ready to take over, the Guigal dynasty looks strong.
But there is a young and dynamic breed of vigneron coming through, personified by Montez, his friend Stéphane Ogier and the taciturn Christophe Bonnefond. In the past they or their parents would have grown grapes for big companies such as Guigal's; today they make their own wine, and their reputations have flourished, in part because of highly favourable notices from the influential American critic Robert Parker.
Thanks to the Irish importer Simon Tyrrell, the leader of our tour, we are given access to the cellars of all three, where we taste the just-harvested 2007 vintage and a range of others, either still in cask or in bottle. The tasting offers a fascinating insight into how great wines are made and then mature. Ogier, for example, blends grapes from eight sites for his basic Côte-Rôtie, many of which you would be more than happy to drink on their own, such is their perfumed intensity and richness of fruit.
One barrel from one soil might add body, another a particular aroma; a third might have tannins to cosset the wine on its journey to maturity. That is the winemaker's judgment: how to blend the fruits of his vineyard into something memorable. Asked if he uses a computer to track the barrels and their attributes, Ogier laughs and says he keeps everything in his head.
He is also developing new vineyards, vin-de-pays sites such as Seyssuel, just north of the Côte-Rôtie, to supplement his small, expensive and much-lauded production.
The urbane and utterly focused Ogier proves an interesting contrast to the ever-busy Montez, for whom 24 hours is clearly not enough to squeeze in his plans for new vineyards, new wines, new strategies and even a new visitor centre on a slope with a majestic view over the Rhône Valley, including the puffing industrial heap on the eastern side of the river. The visitor-centre site is just below his family complex of ancient farm buildings and new wine storage and wine-making facilities, which sit on a plateau above the village of Chavanay.
Montez makes so many wines from so many parcels that it is a challenge just to keep track as he swings from one barrel to another. His Côte-Rôtie is young but promising, and his Condrieu and St Joseph are wonderful. The former is the white wine of the area, made from Viognier planted on sheer slopes. At its best it is also one of the great whites of the world. Condrieu is next to Côte-Rôtie, and St Joseph is next to Condrieu, although where one ends and the other starts is open to question. This has, presumably, led to anomalies such as the fact that Viognier grown in St Joseph qualifies as Condrieu. The Syrah grown in St Joseph is less elegant than that grown in Côte-Rôtie, but there are some very serious St Joseph wines - and some pretty serious prices as well.
Christophe Bonnefond, of Domaine Bonnefond, is a man of few words. He prefers to let his wine do the talking, and he nods graciously when we explode with superlatives. His Côte-Rôties are measured, pure and utterly seductive, and his Condrieu is not far behind.
Bonnefond brings us to yet another redeveloped parcel, where his father and brother are extending the Les Rochains vineyard by clearing away the vegetation of centuries in preparation for new planting near Guigal's famous La Landonne vineyard. He leans down to show us damage from hail that had left branches withered on the vines. It was a reminder that what nature gives, nature can take away in a couple of hours. The Rhône Valley is also where the infamous mistral wind whips through in spring and winter,
leaving vines and trees in a crumpled mess.
Ogier tells us that the 2007 vintage was in grave danger until September, when a northern wind dried the grapes after the summer rains and a blissful blast of sunshine ripened them in time for harvest. The past four vintages have all been excellent, he says, but with different strengths. Not surprisingly, he believes the 2007 will be the best - unless a vintage is an obvious turkey, winemakers still believe totally in it. Call it hopeless optimism or just good business, but the bottles yet to be sold are always the best.
That said, the barrels we taste in all three winemakers' cellars, from all three appellations, are remarkable: pure fruit intensity with elegant perfumes and arresting concentration. We note how the wines reflect the men. Ogier's are disciplined, immaculate, taut and concentrated; Montez's are more adventurous; and Bonnefond's, like the man, are mysterious and fascinating. All three thirtysomethings personify the promising future of the northern Rhône.
It may be a family thing, but, mindful of those steep slopes, don't ever believe that making wine here is an easy option.
As John Livingstone-Learmonth, author of The Wines of the Northern Rhône, writes: "The hillsides themselves are proper slopes, not gently rolling ones. Stiff ledges that require bon oeil, bon pied, bon dos - good eye, good foot, good back - from the men and women who work them, and sculpt their outlooks into a gritty realism. It's easier to sit on a tractor than spend the day puffing up and sliding down the schist."
LOOK OUT FOR . . .
STÉPHANE MONTEZ
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes white 2006 (€14.99)
Condrieu 2006 (€37)
St Joseph "Cuvée du Papy" 2005 (€28.99)
STÉPHANE OGIER
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes, Syrah "Simone Joseph" 2005 (€12.99)
"La Rosine" 2006 (€22)
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes, Seyssuel 2005 (€16.99)
Côte-Rôtie 2004 (€50)
CHRISTOPHE BONNEFOND
Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes, Syrah 2006 (€16.99)
Côte-Rôtie 2005 (€40)
Cote-Rotie "Les Rochains" 2005 (€60)
These wines are variously available from Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, Co Dublin; 64 Wine, Glasthule, Co Dublin; Redmond's, Ranelagh, D6; Vanilla Grape, Kenmare, Co Kerry; Wicklow Arms, Delgany, Co Wicklow; McCabe's, Blackrock, Co Dublin; Next Door @ Myles' Creek, Kilkee, Co Clare; Cases Wine Warehouse, Tuam Road, Galway; the Vintry, Rathgar, D6; Uncorked, Rathfarnham, D14; the Vineyard, Galway; Sweeny's Off Licence, D11; Lilac Wines, Fairview, D3.
Other names worth watching out for include Guigal, Chapoutier, Vidal- Fleury, Jamet, Cuilleron and Rostaing.
You could also try Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 2002, E Guigal (12.5%, €39), which blends grapes from two vineyards normally used for the top-rank Château d'Ampuis (but not this vintage, as they had too poor a year). The result is light, perfumed and delicious, with bright red fruit and a soft, succulent texture. It's available from O'Briens; Superquinn; and McCabe's in Blackrock, Co Dublin.