Help me construct a Northern Rhône horizontal?

Looking to explore the differences between Cote Rotie, Cornas, and Hermitage with some friends across a single vintage. Looking for 3 bottles that I’ll be able to find reasonably easily (either locally or online) that are good expressions of their respective locale. Ideal scenario would be <$250 total, but let’s call it a soft limit.

Thanks!

Can’t help specifically because the producer I represent does not make Cote Rotie. But please PM or e-mail me if you are looking for high quality, competitively priced Hermitage and/or Cornas. Several vintages available for both Appellations, also basic and higher level bottlings. But your budget is tight for these wines. IMO you should look for a mid-level vintage with some bottle age. Trophies from any of the three Appellations will bust your budget for a single bottle.

Dan Kravitz

Can’t help that I have cheap friends! Honestly, none of us drink a ton of Northern Rhône right now, so if this is an eye opener for us, then maybe I’ll start looking at the more fun stuff!

For a basic introduction, you can’t go wrong with the big, easier to find producers. Grab a Guigal “Brune et Blonde” CR, a Voge “VV” Cornas, and the Hermitage is harder given the price limits but maybe a Jaboulet “Maison Blue.” Most folks here will prefer the geekier stuff, but they can be much harder to find.

Domaine Faurie, Hermitage

Texier, Cotie Rotie

Vogue or Paris, Cornas

Boom. $250, just a smidge more, unless you go with the Paris 30. Or the Faury Cotie Rotie. Or if you wanna go geeky wild, do the Levet Cotie Rotie.

I was trying to think of producers who make all three, but could only come up with Delas, Chapoutier and Ferraton. Not great choices.

where is locally?

Ferraton is making some great wines. I’d especially recommend the Cornas Les Eygats. From JLL:

The domaine vineyards are mainly cultivated biodynamically. > Winemaking methods have been eased off since the arrival of the oenologue Damien Bresset in 2008, a good thing, and the wines are now more interesting and more refined, and generally underestimated. Oaking has been cut back, too.
The Les Oliviers white from St-Joseph needs four years to settle its oak but is a rich, gourmand wine in shape and consistent in quality. There are now three Lieu-Dit Saint-Joseph reds - Paradis, Saint-Joseph and Bonneveau, all of which are good and admirably true to their terroir, with the 2016 St Jo Lieu-Dit Bonneveau a ***() STGT wine, and the 2016 St Paradis a **** STGT wine; since 2012, their existence has robbed the regular Saint-Joseph La Source red of its heart, however. Since 2015 there has been a good Tavel rosé called Les Lauses.

From the big 2015 vintage, it is worth noting the Hermitage reds - Le Méal a classy STGT ****** wine, the Dionnières an inky Pinot-esque *****, and the Les Miaux an authentic, STGT **** wine. In 2016 both Le Méal a ***** STGT again, and Dionnières a ***() velvet wine, were convincing performers.

Ferraton have also moved into Cornas in recent years, now offering three, a classic, pretty basic, fruited blend called Les Grands Muriers, and two plot-specific wines, Les Eygats from the north of the appellation, and Patou from the south. The 2017 Patou was a ***() STGT wine

The Ermitage Le Méal has a few five and six stars.

Great suggestions.

A word of caution here: The Guigal spends 30 months in barrique, so it isn’t so clearly a reflection of the appellation.

My suggestion would be to get 2 bottles instead of 3 with that budget. Then you could get high quality wines that are, in my opinion, more representative of their appellations. Jamet and Clape would be slightly over budget, but I’ll bet someone here has suggestions that would get you close in style and quality for a little less money.

Oh, and I’d be looking for 2015s or 2016s. They’ll probably give you a better idea of what these wines are like than '14s or '13s right now.

The suggestions so far are good.

Adding:

Sorrel Hermitage
Vernay Cote Rotie
Clape makes a Vin Des Amis also if your budget is tight.

I think you could do this for around budget, just depends on the brands you want and availability. Saint Joseph is another great way to go.

I would go with:

Xavier Gerard Cote Rotie ~60
Alain Verset Cornas or Paris Geynale ~60
Jaboulet La Chapelle ~130

I think many here would suggest 16 over 15 for getting a good sense of place.

2016 is also a finer vintage, IMHO.

Levet Cote Rotie (Journaries or Chavaroche)
Guilllaume Gilles Cornas

These would be my top choices to fit into this budget. For Hermitage I don’t know. I might not be leaving enough budget, but maybe.

I’d also recommend 2016 over 2015. Of course, if you can, find older wines… 2006 and 2007 are drinking well, 2009 after a couple of hours as well. Had good success with Cornas 2011, haven’t tried Cote Rotie or Hermitage.

I’d try

  • Voge VV is actually my favourite in your price range, I’d also recommend Balthazar, (Casimir or Chaillot would fit imo), Guillaume Gilles (Chaillot preferably but Nouvelle R is good as well) or Vincent Paris (Geynale ideally, but Granit 60 as well) for Cornas.
  • Cote Rotie lots of different styles but in your budget, Viailliere from Gerin (their mid-range), Maison Rouge from Duclaux (their top range), Lieu-dit Bonnivieres from Cuilleron (their top range), Rozier or Rochain from Bonnefond (their top range).
    I like the B&B from Guigal but agree that it’s not always the most representative wine, especially young imo. I’d also be wary to open a young Levet as well, and it’s more “feral” than a lot of Cote Roties from other producers. Might not be the most representative either.

Don’t have much experience with Hermitage so I’ll punt on that.

First, I’d suggest 16 as the best vintage for this. It’s the least solar of the recent vintages an reasonably open.

Côte Rotie:
Champet
Clusel Roch
Jamet Terrasses (the other Jamet)
Gerard (slightly polished)
I wouldn’t suggest young Levet

Cornas:
Balthazar Chaillot would be my choice
Gilles (old school, 16 is a beast)
Lionnet terre brûlée is an option

Hermitage:
Faurie is basically it. A lot of overrated and bad winemaking on that hill. I bought a few bottles of Jaboulet in 16 on the basis that I could have made good wine in the northern Rhône that year, but the last 25 years of Jaboulet are not promising.

I’d also suggest adding in St. Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage if you have left over funds - Gonon iles feray or Faury VV for St. Joseph, Gilles Barge or Graillot for Crozes.

The other Jamet is pretty good.

-Al