Jonathan Ray
Wine Club: a taste of Rhône royalty
A reader upbraided me gently the other day saying he felt I was overly effusive about the wines I feature in these pages. He hinted that I must be in the pay of the merchants in order to endorse quite so heartily whatever six random wines they care to offload on me.
Well, I promise I’m not in anyone’s pocket. Just to be clear, the offers work like this: I chat to whichever merchant we’re featuring and between us we try to come up with a pertinent/interesting theme, region, country or producer. The merchant sends me – or we taste together – anything up to a couple of dozen wines that we think might work, out of which I choose my favourite six. These we then offer to you at as keen a price as I can bully the merchant into. Plenty of wines fall by the wayside, either because I don’t like them (or think you won’t) or because they’re too pricey (or too cheap).
As regular readers know, Mrs Ray is never slow to offer her help or her pithy opinions (often too fruity to be repeated) and our many neighbours remain selflessly on alert to help choose and, invariably, drain the bottles. If nothing else it means we can divvy up the recycling.
This week, thanks to the close contacts enjoyed by our partner Mr Wheeler, we’re focusing on the Rhône royalty that is Vidal-Fleury, the oldest continuously operating producer in the region, founded in 1781 and owned by the mighty Guigal family.
The 2020 Vidal-Fleury Côtes du Rhône Blanc (1) is a tasty blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc and Clairette. It has a lovely creamy texture and is dry with fresh acidity and hints of peach, apricot and melon. £9.95 down from £11.95.
The 2020 Vidal-Fleury Saint-Joseph Blanc (2) is a concentrated mix of Marsanne and Roussanne aged on the lees. Although young, it’s starting to show its promise and is beautifully layered. The finish is quite savoury although there are teasing hints of honey, peach and almonds. £22.95 down from £26.95.
The 2018 Vidal-Fleury Côtes du Rhône Rouge (3) is a typical southern Rhône blend of Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Fresh, fruity, spicy and jammy, it’s hard not to just gulp down in one. £9.95 down from £11.95.
The 2019 Vidal-Fleury Vacqueyras (4), from the slopes of the Dentelles de Montmirail mountains, is fresh and spicy with ripe hedgerow fruit and noticeable tannins. Already extremely approachable, it has the oomph to age well. £19.95 down from £22.95.
The 2019 Vidal-Fleury Crozes-Hermitage (5) from the northern Rhône is 100 per cent Syrah, aged partly in barrel and partly in foudres before spending six months in bottle. It’s full of blackberry/blackcurrant/damson flavours with a touch of sweetness and a long, dry finish. £19.95 down from £23.95.
The 2018 Vidal-Fleury Saint-Joseph Rouge (6) is also made solely from Syrah and is dark and brooding. There are hints of violets on the nose whilst the palate is full of plums, damsons and spice with a noticeable swirl of dark chocolate on the finish. £22.95 down from £26.95.
The wines of the Rhône Valley are just so tasty and so varied and remain such good value when compared with Bord ’n’ Burg. These Vidal-Fleury bottles give an excellent snapshot of the region but if you fancy swanking it up a bit, consider the deliciously tempting ‘Super Six’ add-on of a limited edition six-bottle wooden box, comprising one bottle each of 2018 Vidal-Fleury Cornas, 2018 Vidal-Fleury Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde, 2019 Vidal-Fleury Condrieu, 2019 Vidal-Fleury Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, 2019 Vidal-Fleury Hermitage and 2020 Vidal-Fleury Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, for £259 down from £289.
There are just 60 boxes, limited to one per household, and having just hoovered through one with the lushes at No. 49, I strongly advise tucking one away. The mixed case contains two bottles each of wines 1-6 and delivery, as ever, is free.