Masters of Wine recommends our wine selections！！！
1. Introduction of our Wine Consultant —— WM Alun Griffiths
2. Our selected region —— Southern Rhone Valley
The selected wines come from the Southern Rhone Valley, one of the four great wine-producing regions of France alongside Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne. The vineyards lie alongside the Rhone River which runs from the Alps down to Marseille where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The climate here is highly suitable for the growing of Mediterranean-style grapes, in particular the Grenache, the principal varietal planted in this region, with smaller quantities of Syrah and Mourvedre. The air here is exceptionally clean as a result of the Famous Mistral wind. This cold, strong wind, emanating from Russia, sweeps down the valley and purifies the atmosphere, reducing the risk of diseases and pests in the vineyard, which can damage grapes. Indeed, such is the cleansing effect of the Mistral that famous artists used to come to the Southern Rhone to paint, because the quality of light was superior to anywhere else.
3. Wine Master Alun Griffiths said of the wine from Domine de l’Espigouette
Most of the wine produced here is labelled Cotes du Rhone; the lower-quality, mass-produced, cheaper examples of Cotes du Rhone are generally found in supermarkets, but there are numerous, more serious producers who seek to make a much higher-quality product, destined for restaurants or professional wine merchants. One of these is Domaine de l’Espigouette.
This is a family-run estate established in 1921 and is now run by the 4th generation of the Latour family. Bernard Latour is in charge, assisted by his wife, Marie-France and sons Emilien and Julien. This is a traditional estate making rich, powerful, full-bodied red wines. The secret to their quality lies in the age of the vines; old vines provide a smaller volume but a better quality of juice, with greater intensity and concentration of flavour than the juice produced from young vines. The vines for this bottle, the Cotes du Rhone Vieilles Vignes, are over 60 years old. Grenache accounts for 70% of the blend, with small percentages of Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault.
The Grenache grape produces wines with a typical aroma of black cherries and dark chocolate. On the palate they are usually richly fruity, with low acidity and low tannins, resulting in a smooth texture in the mouth and slightly spicy finish, with fairly high alcohol. The wines accompany a lot of foods very well, especially red meat, but their softness makes them good for drinking on their own, too.
4. Wine Master Alun Griffiths said of the wine from Domaine la Soumade
A few miles away from Domaine de l’Espigouette, in the village of Rasteau, lies Domaine la Soumade. Founded in 1979 by Andre Romero, at first the winery did not make its own wine but sold grapes to the local co-operative. However, by 1990, Andre was bottling all his own wine, and the estate’s reputation began to rise. In 1996 he was joined by his son Frederic, who now controls most of the production. In terms of classification, Rasteau is in the highest quality category, called in French a “ cru”. This is the term given to the individual villages which are considered to make the best wine, and have the right to put the village name on the label of the bottle. These wines are more expensive in consequence than those carrying the simpler Cotes du Rhone name. 70% of the estate’s wines are exported, as the fame of these wines has spread around the world.
Rasteau is considered to have its own, very warm micro-climate, so the grapes are easily ripened every year. The blend here is 80% Grenache, 10% each Syrah and Mourvedre. This wine is delicious young, but also has the ability to age well, too. It can easily last for more than 10 years. Wines are powerful and intense, with high levels of natural ripeness from the grapes. They partner a range of foods very well, particularly lamb, beef, pork, duck and hard cheeses. The relatively low acidity and silky texture on the palate also makes them good wines to drink on their own.
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