The Rhone is the second largest wine-producing region of France (after the Languedoc, its neighbor to the west). Eighty percent of its wine is red; 14 percent, pink; and 6, white.
The southern Rhone (which I discussed last week) makes nine-tenths of all Rhone wine, the red rivers of especially the Cotes du Rhone and Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellations flowing from it into distant lands.
But it is the northern Rhone that is held in greater esteem, for from it come some of the more heralded — and rarer — wines on the planet, reds such as Hermitage and Cote Rotie and whites such as Condrieu and Hermitage again.
How can Hermitage be both a white wine and a red? Because there, as well as in many other appellations of the north, white grapes grow alongside red and are made into separate wines. In many cases, small amounts of white grapes are actually fermented with red, in a process of co-fermentation that makes for a more complex and color-steady red than would otherwise be the case using red grapes alone.
Syrah is the great red grape of the north; its color, aroma, fine tannin and ability to develop seductive, heady nuance with age make it one of the globe’s great grapes, too.
Syrah thrives on the vertiginously steep hillsides of the northern Rhone because there it can capture both the daytime’s sunbath, as well as the nighttime’s cool and exposure, two essential elements for both ripe fruit and a keen edge of acidity.
The major white grapes of the north are the low acid but powerfully scented marsanne; the high acid, elegant and fine roussanne; and the floral, strapping viognier.
Condrieu
Made entirely of viognier, the wee output of Condrieu (it covers only 500 acres) combines tastes of honey, ripe peaches or apricots, a scent of iris perhaps, and minerals. For all its weight, it finishes fresh with acidity.
2012 E. Guigal Condrieu: Quintessential Condrieu, notably pear-like; different fermentation methods increase complexity; enjoy with fish or foie gras. $65
Cote Rotie
The red wine made next to Condrieu, upriver a bit, Cote Rotie means “roasted hillside” for the way the intense sun beats on its 60-degree incline. The overall weather, however, is continental cool. This small appellation (also just 500 acres) makes reds only. Syrah rules here. Good Cote Rotie is ferociously delicious, marked with scents of white pepper, and ripe with earthy, fruit compote flavors.
2011 Maison Nicolas Perrin Cote Rotie: From the southern section of Cote Rotie called the Cote Blonde, hence emphasizing syrah’s finesse over its power; beautifully scented with minerals and dry earth and hints of cocoa and leather. $78
Hermitage
Perhaps the most famed red of the northern Rhone is Hermitage, named after … well, no one truly knows. An ancient hermit, perhaps, or a medieval crusader who built a chapel there still seen today.
Like Cote Rotie, it is nearly all syrah, from grapes grown on terraced, granite-rich soils sloping high over the Rhone River below. However, it is gamier than Cote Rotie, more leathery, even earthier.
Unlike Cote Rotie, Hermitage makes white wine, too, from marsanne and roussanne grapes. Like the red, it is full throttle and multilayered in flavor. Often tasting more like resin than fruit, it can be an acquired taste; but once acquired, unopposable.
2012 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Blanc Chante-Alouette: All marsanne and full of the aromas and flavors of ginger and almonds; delicious with mushrooms or even blue cheese. $100
2010 Domaine Du Colombier Hermitage: Solid but lively, with a mix of red and black aromas and tastes of cherry, tapenade, smoke, leather and bacon; amazing complexity to its finish and afterglow. $80
Crozes-Hermitage and St.-Joseph
The region of Crozes-Hermitage makes red and white wines in the same fashion as Hermitage. Likewise do the vineyards of St.-Joseph spread out across the river from Hermitage.
Though these two are less prestigious than Hermitage, they represent altogether excellent value in northern Rhone reds, increasingly so, as more and more producers adopt vineyard and winemaking practices that concentrate flavor.
2011 Paul Jaboulet Aine Domaine Mule Blanche Crozes Hermitage Blanc: A 50/50 blend of roussanne and marsanne, off old vines, makes for a white heady with perfumes of orange peel, honey and roast almond. $42
St. Peray and Cornas
The districts of St. Peray and Cornas end the northern Rhone at its southern tip. All-Syrah, the best Cornas comes from (again) perilously steep hillside vineyards that sit full-face to the sun.
The wine can be intensely blackstrap and leathery, just this side of opaque, with the telltale aroma and taste that marks many a syrah-based northern Rhone: that of white pepper.
Cornas almost always benefits from aging (7-10 years).
If your wine store does not carry these wines, ask for one similar in style and price.
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