FINE WINES RHÔNE VALLEY PRICES VALID UNTIL 01/07/2013 GLENGARRY FINE WINE WELCOME TO OUR RHÔNE VALLEY OFFER! With all the recent hype surrounding the 2009 and 2010 vintage in Bordeaux particularly but also Burgundy, the Rhône Valley has been left somewhat in the shadows, but not for any longer; we have gathered all of our Rhône Valley producers, the recent releases and some older vintages that have been nestled away maturing in our cel- lars. The overriding factor that screamed off the page as I wrote this is the incredible value the wines of the Rhône Valley still deliver. There are a myriad of vintages in this offer, including the 2009 and 2010 arrivals from these top producers; both exceptional vintages in the Rhône, as they were in other parts of France. The 2009 vintage wines are wonderfully opulent, forward, expressive wines; for me they tend to express the vintage rather than their particular part of the world. The 2010 vintage is all about balance, there’s great fruit, acidity, structure and a clear sense of place. Whilst both vintages will age gracefully, the 2010 wines are a better longer term proposition, the 2009 wines are already delicious now. The international media’s views on the two vintages offer high praise for both vintages: “While the ‘09s are generous and rich, often to a fault, the 2010s display a stunning combination of freshness, richness and structure, the traits necessary for long aging. It’s the rare 2009 that will outlive its 2010 sibling, I believe. The southern Rhône’s winning streak continued through the generally outstanding 2010 vintage, with some estates having produced the best wines I’ve yet tasted from them. According to Christophe Sabon of Domaine de la Janasse, “balance is the word for 2010. Okay, maybe it’s really two words: balance and freshness.” He went on: “The acidity levels are high in the ‘10s but the fruit is ripe, almost like 2007 or even 2003 in some cases. But there’s no roasted character. When those two elements are in harmony the wines are classic, classic Châteauneuf.” Stephen Tanzer “But, having already started my tastings of the 2010 vintage in Burgundy and the Rhône, I must urge those of you who like wines from these two great French wine regions to try to put a bit of money aside (ha!) to invest in the 2010s from them. After the unusually ripe, relatively low acid wines made in 2009, the 2010s typically show considerably more precision and fresh- ness, and more supple tannins in the case of the southern Rhône.” Jancis Robinson “I place 2010 in the top three of my 20 years covering the Rhône alongside the 1978 and 1990.” John Livingstone-Learmonth To accompany this offer, we have put together a series of tastings in Auckland and Wellington around these wines through June and early July. I hope to see you at one of these events and trust you’ll enjoy exploring the wonders the Rhône has to offer as much I have in putting this together. Liz Wheadon TO PLACE AN ORDER PLEASE CONTACT: AUCKLAND AUCKLAND WELLINGTON WELLINGTON Glengarry Victoria Park Glengarry Jervois Road Glengarry Thorndon Glengarry Thorndon Regan McCaffery Michael Antunovich Meredith Parkin Philip Rowe p: 09 308 8372 p: 09 378 8555 p: 04 495 4532 p: 04 495 4531 m: 021 992 340 m: 021 025 51360 m: 021 972 526 m: 021 754 300 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 1 PRICES VALID UNTIL 01/07/2013 UNDERSTANDING THE RHÔNE VALLEY The Rhône Valley is a historic wine region, grapes were grown in the northern part of the valley in the fi rst cen- tury AD. In the 14th Century the papacy moved from Rome to Avignon, with their holiday residence in Châteauneuf- du-Pape; today the bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape still wear the papal signature in various ways. The Pope’s were great lovers of wines and planted vineyards around the city. Situated in south eastern France, just south of Burgundy, the Rhône wine region is 250km long, with 250 communes, starting around Avignon in the south and fi nishing at Lyon – France’s second largest city. Whilst often lumped together, the appellations of the Rhône are spread out over this vast wine growing region and produce a wide variety of styles from numerous grape varieties. Climatically it is a hot region, with abundant sunshine hours suiting grape varieties that like the warmth. There are four different types of rock that make up the unique soils of the Rhône Valley; granite, sandy silica, limestone and clay. The rocks signifi cantly retain the intense summer heat during both day and night, perfect for ripening. The Rhône wine growing region is broken into two distinct parts, the North and the South; the majority of wines produced across both are red, with small percentages of white and Rosé. In 1933 Châteauneuf-du-Pape was the fi rst of the Rhône regions to be awarded the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status; today there are 19 AOC in the Rhône, including some relative new comers: in 2010 the still red wines from Rasteau were granted an AOC, and in 2006 Vinsobres was awarded the AOC status. The quality levels in the Rhône Valley are a little easier to understand than some of the neighbouring French regions; wine produced in one of the AOC villages areas is labelled under that village, outside that wines are either generic table wine, or Côtes du Rhône and then a step up to Côtes du Rhône Villages. THE APPELLATIONS IN THE NORTHERN RHÔNE: CONDRIEU: Home to the opulent variety Viognier (the only variety permitted here under the AOC), where the white wines produced are rich and luscious with aromas of apricot kernel and stoned fruit. The best examples are exceptional, one of the top producers in the region is Yves Cuilleron. CORNAS: The only variety permitted here is Syrah; this is an appellation that offers some of the top fi ne wines in the world, for considerably less than their comparable counterparts elsewhere. The wines are densely structured powerful wines; black fruits, leather and an incredible will to just keep on giving. CÔTE-RÔTIE: The fragrant beautiful reds of the northern Rhône; the varieties permitted here are Syrah and Viognier (which can make up to 20% of the blend), although in recent vintages the amount used is declining with many producers now making 100% Syrah. Fragrant, forward, fruit driven wines that are deceptively powerful. CROZES-HERMITAGE: The majority of Crozes-Hermitage are red wines made from Syrah; there are small amounts of white produced from Marsanne and Roussanne. Geographically the Crozes-Hermitage AOC is diverse; when found, the best examples are excellent value and mature earlier than the other appellations of the northern Rhône. HERMITAGE: Based around the Hermitage hill, there’s Syrah, Marsanne and some Roussanne planted in this appellation. Characteristically the red wines are big, bold styles, full of ripe fruit characters, strong tannin structure, black pepper and spice. SAINT-JOSEPH: The early drinking appellation in the northern Rhône; the whites are in the minority and are generally made from Marsanne and Roussanne, the reds from Syrah. Both red and white Saint-Joseph are fruit driven, fragrant, more gentle styles best to drink in the short term. SAINT-PERAY: One of the smallest appellations in the northern Rhône, Saint-Peray is a white wine appellation producing both still and sparkling white wines. CHÂTEAU-GRILLET: A tiny appellation consisting of 3.5ha on the right side of the Rhône river; there’s only Viognier produced here and only by one producer. A very unique appellation, grapes have been grown here since Roman times and from 1936 it was an AOC. 2 PRICES VALID UNTIL 01/07/2013 UNDERSTANDING THE RHÔNE VALLEY RECENT VINTAGE RATINGS EXCEPTIONAL VINTAGES North: 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 South: 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010 GOOD VINTAGES North: 1996, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012 South: 1999, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 THE APPELLATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN RHÔNE: CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE: The charming superstar of the southern Rhône; here there are 13 permitted varieties although only three producers, including Beaucastel and Mont-Redon, that grow all 13 varieties. Of all of the appellations, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is very hard to make gen- eralisations about, the styles produced are wide ranging and there are 8100 hectares currently under vine. There are Châteauneuf-du-Papes that are excellent young and serious long lived wines produced here; in this appellation, perhaps more than the others, knowing the producers style and identifying the one that suits your taste is key. GIGONDAS: This is a predominantly red appellation, with the main varieties being Grenache, Syrah, Mourvè- dre and Cinsault. The wines produced here are strong, robust wines with chewy tannins and a rich fruity character; they are generous and rounded. LIRAC: Often referred to as the Rosé producing appellation in the south; whilst Rosé is produced there, the majority of production is red wine made from a mix of grape varieties. In New Zealand we generally only see Rosé Lirac. TAVEL: An appellation solely reserved for Rosé production; there are nine varieties that can be used to make Tavel including Grenache and Cinsault. VACQUEYRAS: A sleeping superstar that is starting to wake, this appellation in recent years has started to produce some wines of exceptional quality and nicely enough without the massive jumps in price.