Annual Rhone festival
When a winter has been as long and as driech as this, what we really need is something to celebrate. And somehow a pancake just doesn't cut it. What we want is a chance to revel in some gloriously hedonistic wines and a chance to run into a couple of stars. How about the finest young Syrah winemaker in the world? Or the proprietor of perhaps the greatest Chateauneuf estate? Welcome to the annual Uncorked® Rhone festival.
Vincent Avril
Tutored tasting
Tuesday 2 March 2010, 7-9pm
Bishopsgate shop, seated
£50 per person inc VAT
A rarity these days, Clos des Papes has only ever produced one cuvee of each colour of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, believing that creaming off the 'best' barrels for a 'super-cuvee' will inevitably dilute the regular wine. Vincent Avril is well versed in authenticity. His late father, Paul, had a distinguished record in the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, where among other achievements he was instrumental in saving unpasteurised cheese for the world. We'll taste a vertical of six reds back to the 1990 and a 2008 white, all introduced and explained by Vincent himself.
RSVP
Jean-Louis Chave
Meet the winemaker
Tuesday 2 March 2010, 10am
Bishopsgate shop, informal
No charge
The last time we visited the Chaves, Jean-Louis was musing whether St-Joseph should be saved. Or blown up. Scathing of neighbours who give the appellation a bad name, for this young winemaker great Syrah in the northern Rhone is comparable to the great reds of the Cote de Nuits. This is an informal visit and tasting of four of his Selection wines before Jean-Louis hops on the train to Paris for an appointment with the Wine Spectator. So no holding him up!
RSVP
Rhone walkaround tasting
Wednesday 3 March 2010, 12-8pm
Bishopsgate shop, informal
£25 per person inc VAT
Getting samples from the Rhone is a far cry from doing so from Burgundy. But since we were there to collect from Messrs Avril and Chave it seemed silly not to go and bother some of our other cherished sources, too. So Wednesday, a whole month earlier than normal, sees the staging of our annual Rhone walkaround. Featured will be cask samples of 2008s from all those who'll release them, plus selected older vintages from those who don't, plus a few more besides. It's a fascinating experience and an unmissable event for fans of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, as well as those who've yet to be converted. /CW
RSVP