TDF 2010 Stage 12: Bourg-de-Péage to Mende

Today's étape, the 12th of the 2010 Tour de France, could be thought of as a bridge stage, as it sees the race leave the Alps clearly behind, along with eastern France, while it also begins the inevitable march toward the Pyrenées.


While the Alps may have been left behind, there's no lack of climbing today. The stage includes five categorized climbs, culminating in a finish atop the Category 2 Côte de la Croix-Neuve, now known as the Montée Laurent Jalabert in honor of the multi-faceted French champion who won there after a long solo escapade on Bastille Day, 1995. I can still remember watching — a beautiful victory from one of my favorite all-time riders. Jalabert went on to finish 4th overall that year, his highest GC finish ever and a tremendous result for a rider who started his career as a field sprinter.

Laurent Jalabert, resplendent in the maillot vert at the 1995 Tour.
Image courtesy of Graham Watson.

The route of today's stage also acts as a bridge from the cool climate wine growing regions visited during the first half of Le Tour to the warmer, drier climes of the more southern and southwestern portions of France. Beginning in Bourg-de-Péage, about 18k ENE of yesterday's finish in Bourg-lès-Valance, the riders head roughly due west, crossing the Rhône near the aptly named Tournon-sur-Rhône. Here, we're in Syrah country, at the foot of the Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage immediately to the north and Cornas, along with the white and sparkling wine region of St. Peray, just a tad further to the south.

Syrah isn't happy much further north than this; Côte-Rôtie is about as far north as it goes in France. Go just a touch further south, though, and the scorching heat and dry summers can be a bit much for it, pushing its ripeness levels past the point of elegance and making it more appropriate as a blending partner rather than a soloist. For my two cents (or more often $20-50 plus), there's no place on earth where Syrah finds a finer, more expressive, sometimes even elegant voice than in the Northern Rhône.

One of these three is going down tonight. The question is, which? Depends on what's for dinner... and my frame of mind after a day at the office. Whichever the choice, it will surely be enjoyed while watching today's (recorded) coverage of the Tour; I'd much rather listen to Paul and Phil than Hummer and Roll (sorry, Bobke).

The race won't dawdle for long in the Northern Rhône, though, as once across the river the peloton will quickly head WSW toward the finish, a total of 210k later, in Mende. Much of this time will be spent traversing the ups and downs, twists and turns of the Monts du Vivarais, home on the southeastern side of the range to one of the more obscure wine regions of the Southern Rhône, the Côtes du Vivarais. It's cool enough in the high altitude vineyards of the Vivarais that Syrah is still most important here, at least at the Mas de Bagnols, but Grenache often joins it, bringing a warmer flavor profile to play.

If time permits, I'll report back on this evening's stage, sup and sip.

Up next: to the Tarn we go.

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More Highlights from the Skurnik Grand Portfolio Tasting

Though you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you caught the first part of my coverage of the recent Michael Skurnik Wines grand portfolio tasting, there were wines on hand from regions other than Burgundy. Actually, without doing a thorough statistical analysis of the event’s tasting notebook, I’d hazard a guess that there were more wineries represented from the US than from any other single nation. Before we get to the small handful of American wines I sampled, though, let’s finish up with France and dabble in Italy.


Outside of Burgundy (though not by much), the lineup that most impressed me was that of Stephane Robert, from Domaine de Tunnel in the Northern Rhône. His wines showed enough richness to appeal to voyeuristic imbibers but maintained a sense of purity that clearly expressed each wine’s terroir and typicity. Robert makes two varietal cuvées of Saint-Péray rather than the Marsanne/Roussanne blend that’s more typical to the AOC. His 2007 “Cuvée Marsanne” was round, clean and pure, while the “Cuvée Roussanne” from the same vintage showed a grippier, higher acid profile with a touch of vegetal savor to its fruit. In the Syrah department, a 2007 Saint-Joseph was aromatically closed but displayed fantastic length on the palate, while his 2006 Cornas, produced from 50 year-old vines, was redolent of sour black olives. Produced from 100 year-old vines, the Cornas “Vin Noir” is the top wine at Domaine du Tunnel; the 2006 delivered substantial richness bolstered by a firm backbone of oak-driven spiciness. A sample of Stephane’s 2007 Cornas, which I tasted when stopping by for a re-visit toward the end of the day (something I did only here, at Domaine de l’Arlot and, of course, the Theise Champagne table), was full of lively red berry fruit laced with aromas of pumpernickel rye. Very tasty stuff.


After a Burgundy-intensive spell on the ground floor, I headed downstairs for a quick glimpse at some of the Italian producers who’d flown over for the event. As I’d tasted through many of the wines at a Marc DeGrazia event last year, I picked and chose my way around the room, eventually spending a good chunk of time chatting with Sara Palma, Sales Manager for Azienda Agricola Matteo Correggia. Sara, who is pictured above, walked me through Correggia’s current lineup, including a tank sample of their 2008 Roero Arneis, a wine for which I’ve always had a soft spot, and an herbal, refreshing Brachetto called “Anthos,” which tasted of marzipan and wild cherries. Sara taught me that as much as 75% of all Barbera d’Alba is produced in the Roero and also spoke of the struggles the Correggia estate has been faced with overcoming since Matteo Correggia's untimely death in a 2001 tractor accident.

I was also pleased to discover the wines of Romagna-based producer, Fattoria Zerbina. Winemaker Cristina Giminiani (sorry, no pic) was on hand, pouring her direct, juicy, good-value 2007 Sangiovese di Romagna “Ceregio” as well as a delicious and finely balanced botrytis-affected 2006 Passito di Romagna called “Scacco Matto,” produced from 100% Albana.

Back upstairs, I made an even stricter selection when pruning my way through the huge array of American wines. I stopped for a quick visit with Peter and Willinda McCrea, both of whom I’d missed during a trip to Stony Hill Vineyard a couple of years back. Their 2005 Napa Valley Chardonnay was the star of their lineup, a classic example of the old school, age worthy style that continues to earn the estate its reputation. A half step away, I also tasted through the Chardonnays from David Ramey. Though much more modern in style, they’re well done, showing good differentiation from site to site and always retaining bright acidity that helps to balance their sometimes intense weight. My favorite was their “basic” 2006 Sonoma Coast bottling, crisp and full of tropical fruit flavors.


Last up, I wandered over to the Dashe Cellars table to check in with Michael Dashe. After eight years on the winemaking team at Ridge Vineyards, Michael and his wife Anne are now on their own, turning out wines produced from fruit sourced in various parts of Northern California. The wines don’t show the strong oak stamp I associate with Ridge but do, as at Ridge, clearly reflect their places of origin. They’re not shy but are also not over-the-top. Michael is avoiding manipulation in the winery and is not afraid to let the naturally tannic structure of some of his wines show. His 2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon displayed good fruit clarity and structure, while a 2006 Zinfandel from Louveau Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley was crunchily tannic, its texture providing startling counterpoint to its raisiny fruit. I’d hoped for a taste of his Potter Valley Zin called “L’Enfant Terrible.” It wasn’t listed in the book but when I asked about it Michael uncovered a sample bottle of his 2008, which he’d drawn from tank just after a recent racking. It’s an intentionally cool climate Zinfandel, finished at less than 13% alcohol and treated with minimal intervention and very low doses of sulfur. Mike’s goal with his “wild child” is to make a Zin that drinks more like a Morgon. I was pretty convinced. Now if only I can get my hands on a few of the very few bottles from Dashe’s 280 case production that make it to the New York market, I’ll be a happy camper.

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A Pair from the Rhône, Ten Years After

Eight or more years ago, I was still buying a lot more Rhône wine – and California wine, for that matter – than I do today. It’s not that I’ve lost my taste for the Rhône; in fact, I still really enjoy the wines of southeastern France that show the character of their place without being buried by today’s prevailing trend toward higher alcohol. But I digress. Today’s topic is not a slamming of high-octane wine but rather a look at a couple of wines that have had some time to grow.

One of the benefits of the contrast between my old shopping habits and current drinking patterns is that I have a decent handful of Rhône wines stashed away that are now coming of age. The picture tells part of the tale; as one wine was pulled from my cellar, complete with scuffmarks that bear witness to its rubs with other bottles over the years.


Gigondas “Le Grand Montmirail,” Domaine Brusset 1998
I bought several bottles of Brusset’s 1998 “Grand Montmirail” on release, opened one immediately and the others at progressive intervals. Sadly, it wasn’t until the last of my bottles, enjoyed recently, that it started to show much of its potential. Earlier bottles had always seemed ungiving. Not hard or tight, just mute. Finally shed of its baby fat and showing its inner structure, this was a good example of the elegant side of Southern Rhône wines. Medium bodied and supple, with subtly spiced red berry fruit, gentle tannins and a well-developed bouquet of bacon, dark spices and garrigue. Its overall impact conjured images of a smooth white rock, like the galets in the Gigondas vineyards, covered by spiced raspberry confiture. Warm and reservedly fruity on the exterior, cool and stony at the core. $23 (on release). 13% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: New Castle Imports, Myrtle Beach, SC.

While there’s always the chance that the time and space devoted to cellaring won’t pay dividends, it’s a much greater risk to buy old wines on the standard retail market – especially when they’re on closeout. Nonetheless, I’ll occasionally run into just such a wine that presents a combination of factors that will make me, even if against better judgment, pick up a bottle or two on the off chance that I’ll land on the up side of the risk/reward spectrum.

Cornas “Cuvée des Coteaux,” Robert Michel 1998
I do still look for and buy a reasonable amount of Northern Rhône wines, so when I spotted this Cornas recently, tucked away in an odd corner at a local shop, I did a double-take. It passed my usual visual inspections: clean labels, a capsule that spins freely, no sweet or sour aromas emanating from under said capsule, a good fill level – in short, no outward appearances of abuse. It also passed the rear label test: a Rosenthal Wine Merchants selection, one of the members on my short list of “just buy it” importers. When a quick price check came up $17, I did a triple-take. Immediately suspicious of malfeasance, I nonetheless found it hard to pass up the prospect of mature Cornas for a mere pittance relative to its usual price point, which starts at around $40 for current releases of most producers’ regular cuvées.

Closeouts like this are risky. In many shops, they’ll indicate a wine that’s been collecting dust on the shelves, ignored, unwanted and – most significantly – abused for years until, after repeated markdowns, they finally beckon to unsuspecting bargain hunting, price driven shoppers. Equally likely, it’s been lost in the corner or under a pile of other wine at a distributor’s warehouse. The chances of abuse are just as high there as at your corner liquor store, so buyer beware. Worse yet, and this happens regularly, the wine could have been returned by one shop, where it languished through a hot summer (or five), only to be re-inventoried and resold to another retailer at rock bottom prices. The apparently pristine condition of this bottle, however, suggested that it had most likely been lost in the shuffle at its original US source, Rosenthal, and then sold at significant reduction to the PA system just to move units out of inventory. This still begs the question as to why it hadn’t sold upon release. But all things considered, I was willing to chance it.

The bottle turned out to be in solid shape. Fully mature but not at all tired or worn, its tannins had softened to yield a wine of gentle texture and developed aromas. That said, it wasn’t very exciting, which may help to explain why there were bottles left unsold ten years after its vintage date. Shorter and simpler than I would have hoped, the main flavor impression it left was of a red berry fruit rollup that had been used as a saddle blanket during a warm day’s horseback ride. A minor issue with brettanomyces might be another reason for its remainder status. Given the mere $17 chance, this was a risk well played. It didn’t leave me entirely disappointed, as I drank it happily with a simple dinner of grilled sausage and peppers over brown rice. But I won’t be rushing back for the remaining bottles. $17 (closeout). 12.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchants, New York, NY.

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