A League of Their Rhône

My first (and hopefully not last!) trip to the Rhône Valley in France was as a guest of Famille Perrin, best known for their quintessential Châteauneuf du Pape, Château Beaucastel.  Little did I know that Beaucastel was just one of many exciting wine endeavors for Famille Perrin, and we were fortunate enough to visit various properties in both Northern and Southern Rhône in the few days we spent there.  But first, a stop on the iconic hill of Hermitage to acclimate ourselves to our surroundings…

Hermitage La Petite Chappelle

That water you see in the background is the Rhône River, which also lends it's name to the wine region.  It was breezy as heck up there, quite possibly due to the (in)famous mistral wind the Northern Rhône is known for.  

Cohorts Lisa and Drew with Benoit Busseuil of Famille Perrin

From Hermitage, we took a ride to a bijou village called Mercurol, where inside a cozy timeworn barn winemaker Guillaume Sorrel was aging his spectacular Domaine Les Alexandrins wine.  We had the opportunity to try bottles and barrel samples of the Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph, and both were exceptional.  The Crozes-Hermitage was 100% Syrah (legally, Crozes can be blended with up to 15% of white grapes Marsanne and Roussanne, but Guillaume prefers a pure expression of Syrah).  The grapes were from 70 year old vines planted in sandy clay soils and galets (flat, oval river stones, typical to the Rhône Valley). It was vivid and dense with flavors of blueberry compote and licorice.  Quite delightful.  The St. Joseph was also 100% Syrah (legally, can blend 10% Marsanne and Roussanne) from 90 year old vines planted in granite soils. It was a touch more lean and mineral with flavors of smoked fruits, grilled plum, blackberry and violet.  Also impressive. 

Guillaume Sorrell, Domaine Les Alexandrins

Both were made using 'ancestral methods' (aka traditional), manually harvested from old vines (in French "vieilles vignes"), destemmed and macerated for three days, fermented for twenty days, and then aged for 15 months in one and two year old barrels.  Very classic, and very classy.   

In addition to their Domaine wines, they also make a range of more value-driven Maison Les Alexandrins wines, from basic Syrah, Viognier and Côte-du-Rhône bottlings to more complex, village-specific Hermitage, Cornas, Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu. 

We visited many more properties on the trip:  Château Beaucastel, Vinsobres, Coudalet, Grand Prebois and Miraval (aka Chateau Pitt-Jolie, which I'm not allowed to talk about due to the NDA we signed outside the front gate...but <whispered> it was A. MAZE. ING.).  All in all, an incredible adventure with unbelievably delicious wines and OH DANG IT, I almost forgot to mention FOOD!  Maison Chabran l'Espace Gourmand, l'Oustilet and Nez!  And an insanely yummy dinner prepared at the guesthouse!  Um, how do you say scrumptious en Francais?

Lisa, Drew, Emmanuel and Paul breaking bread

Famille Perrin
www.familleperrin.com