I had always wanted to visit the Rhone Valley and Burgundy in France, so I was very excited when I was invited to tour the region. So the second week of May, a group of nine of us from ABC and three retailers from New York embarked on a bus tour as guests of  Jonathan Shiekman of Margate Wine Importers.

 As with most wine areas in Europe, wine has been produced in the Rhône since ancient times. The Rhône is separated north and south with the north using primarily the Syrah grape and the south Grenache. As with most areas of French wine it is the “terroir” that dictates where a particular grape is planted. Terroir simply refers to all of the natural forces that influence the growing of the grape; i.e. amount of rain, sun exposure, soil composition, etc.

 At our first stop, Domaine de l’Obrieu, we met Jean-Yves Perez, proprietor of the domaine. Here, three cuvées  are produced; Côtes du Rhône Village Visan Tradition which is 80% Grenache & 20% Syrah, Côtes  du Rhône Village Visan Cuvée des Antonins which is 90% Grenache & 10% Syrah and the Côtes du Rhône Village Cuvée Spéciale, 70% Grenache & 30% Syrah.

The tasting took place at Jean-Yves’ dinner table with his wife Cécile, whose family owns Domaine du Grand Bourjassot in Gigondas, a later visit, and their adorable daughters, Marion and Pauline. So, along with plates of assorted cheeses, patés and terrines we tasted through l’Obrieu’s delicious wines. The wines were wonderful, each showing a different expression of the domaine and each vintage we tasted. We visited a number of other properties in the Rhône, which I will talk about in later blogs and you will see other reports from my colleagues, Shayne Hebert and Jim Greeley, so keep an eye out for those.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, N. Florida

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekena