Roaming through the Rhone

If any Rhone wine lovers reading this have not yet made acquaintance with the delights of Domaine Brusset, I recommend that you do before Christmas.  Not only are the majority of the wines perfect festive fair, and brilliantly friendly with turkey, goose, and various party gatherings,  but they’re fascinatingly good, and superb value to boot.

Last week, Great Western Wine’s Fine Wine Manager Tom King, hosted a delightful evening at the award-winning Allium restaurant, where executive Chef Chris Staines, created a stellar menu to showcase each of the wines.  Tom deserves extra praise for stepping in at the last minute  when winery owner Laurent Brusset was unfortunately delayed in a road pile up close to Dijon, but Tom was on expert form, and did Laurent proud, with his customary mix of intense knowledge and humour.

This was a red wine only dinner; challenging for Chef, but ably delivered.  Chris Staines is undoubtedly one of the most wine-knowledgeable chefs around, and it’s refreshing to see his stance on wine dinners.  Unsurprisingly, his palate is fine-tuned, but unlike many chefs, who will take heed of wine styles , or pay lip service to them, before devising their menu, Chris insists on tasting each wine, and will then build the menu to showcase the wine – scents of ginger and nectarine? Chris will work something in. Mocha and dark chocolate on the palate? Again, I’ve seen Chris weave cacao into spicy meat dishes. Genius.

Brusset’s world is the southern Rhone, that vast expanse of France, below Valence, leading to Provence; a land of heat, sunshine, olive trees and lavender fields, with sleepy villages, full of golden-hued houses, cafes, and village squares, where communities congregate.  In terms of wine, this is the land of Cotes du Rhone; within this, there are 18 villages, which now lay claim to their own appellation.  Unlike many regions, the magic of the southern Rhone is the mix of grape varieties, which all add to the unique mix of complexity and difference. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault are the classics, but many more abound.

In an unusual twist, one of my favourite, great value reds Côtes du Ventoux ‘Les Boudalles’ 2015, was served as an aperitif.  Had it been Summer, I’d have loved to have seen this served chilled. Côtes du Ventoux lies just south of the main Côtes du Rhone region, and produces some of the very best value Rhone wine around. Soft, juicy, with gentle, sweet plum and cherry fruit, at under £10, it’s a steal – stock up for Christmas Eve and Boxing Day parties, it’s a real crowd-pleaser.

It’s not easy to pair a red wine with a starter, so Chris Staines was challenged and came up with a perfectly seared piece of pepper and sesame crusted tuna, enhanced, in his own unique way with a melange of chilli, turmeric, coriander and cumin infused lentils with a spicy mooli relish and a kick of yuzu.

Tuna, like monkfish is a meaty fish that can cope with red wine.  Brusset Côtes du Rhone 'Laurent B’ 2015 was juicy,and packed with forest fruit flavours and hints of black pepper.  Bright, fruity, and another absolute Christmas bargain.  However for this dish, I found the alternative wine, Cairanne 'Les Travers’ 2014, the winner, with its sweet, rich, concentrated fruit, which matched with the natural sweetness of the tuna and the pepper spice. I’d certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a rich, silky red to impress, and tasting far more expensive than it is!

For the main course, we moved to two wines from one of the best-known areas within the southern Rhone, Gigondas, known for its rich, meaty, well structured reds.  Top end Rhone wines are known for their natural match with rich, wintry dishes – this one didn’t disappoint. Meltingly tender, slow-cooked braised beef, with an enticing medley of autumnal favourites – slow-roasted and pan-fried, earthily sweet Jerusalem artichokes, on a bed of crunchy winter cabbage, sweetened with bacon, carrot and celeriac, atop a creamy and pungent artichoke puree, all infused with the heady scent of truffles – Autumn on a plate.

Two wines to stand up to this heady dish – both Gigondas; the first a dazzling, perfumed, rich red, with a bewitching orange peel and Christmas spice scent, and a bold, sweetly enticing flavour Gigondas ‘Le Grand Montmirail’ 2014 – from grapes grown in the shadows of the Montmirail mountains, sharp, jagged-edged hilltops and hot sunshine.  If you’re serving game, or slow roast lamb over Christmas, this will make you smile. What will make you smile even more is the utterly delicious and majestic ‘Les Hauts de Montmirail 2014 a stunningly crafted red, produced from the Grenache and Carignan grapes, oozing richness, concentration and class.  Packed with inky, licorice and dried fig character, it was absolutely spot on with the beef, and would serve as a worthy red to serve on Christmas Day.

Rhone wines from the inky, Syrah-dominant reds of the north, through to the fragrant, yet rich diversity of the southern Rhone offer great value at every price point.  If you haven’t explored this producer yet, it’s a great time to start.  Enjoy!

By Angela Mount