As you can probably guess, I have been ‘mocked’ (that’s the most polite term I can come up with) mercilessly, by my colleagues about my Rhône Revelation. I blame them entirely. Why have they never sat me down and gone “Stop blagging on about Pauillac and Vosne-Romanée and drink this!” and poured me a huge glass of vibrant, unoaked, unctuous but pure Châteauneuf or a sublime, fresh, beguiling, velvety and multilayered Côte-Rôtie? Why were they hiding it from me?

My experience of these wines has been tarred by the very same brush I thought they were stirred with. Obviously I have tried the highly Parkered wines of the Rhône over the years but most were huge monsters with obvious alcohol, over-extracted and doused with so much oak you could have built a shed. So I popped the whole region in a box and buried it years ago somewhere in an imagined sun-baked field in Provence.

I almost had to be tranquilised to get me on the plane to Lyon by our professional and enigmatic Buyer, Simon Field MW.  He had also seduced, with his spectacular use of the English language, Jake Dean (Sales Manager), Mark Ross (Commercial Manager) and Tom “T.C” Cave (Customers Reserves’ Manager) to accompany us for their Rhône baptism. A mere 30 minutes later, as we gazed out at the astonishingly sloped terraces of the Côte-Rôtie, I was in Syrah heaven at Domaine Ogier. We worked our way through the tiny amounts of barrels that Stéphane Ogier produces. Such glorious concentration, such vibrancy, such precision and no mouth-puckering wood tannins from lashings and lashings of new oak. Bravo! We walked out after a great visit raring to try more. What was somewhat alarming was that my tasting book was already emblazoned with Staples’ Cellar swooshes or ticks. It looked like a Nike add! (To Buy: La Rosine Syrah 2007 £126 per case….AND its cheap!! and 2007 Côte-Rôtie £378. Second growth quality at half the price).

Next stop: the dapper René Rostaing. His Côte-Rôtie, Classique had even more finesse and at £360 another buy and 17/20 score. His Côte-Rôtie, La Landonne surpassed it (18.5/20) but at £600 per case……Will have to wait and see. Almost worth the difference. The minerality of the Côte was truly reflected in the glass. We tried a ‘99 La Landonne which was just turning from primary fruit to something more enticing. We were all beaming about the region and we’d only been there 2 hours! Bring it on.

We headed south and up into the steep hills around the medieval hamlet of Malleval to Domaine Gaillard. The charming Pierre makes red and whites but it’s the latter that had the wow factor for me. A St Joseph Blanc (Saint Jo!) which has great Roussanne punch but offers a great alternative to white Burgundy and a snip at £156 a case – but I shall skip over that one and dive into a case of his magnificent Condrieu (17/20) at £264. Huge concentration of lychees, white peaches, pineapples and apricots. Very exciting but it is a tricky devil to food match and I will only look to buy a case which will last me two years (I’d have thought) from shipping. Drink on its own as an apéritif and with Thai Green Curry….oh….and with shades on….the labels are something else!

I won’t bore you with every visit but almost everyone kept on re-enforcing what we learnt in those first few hours. What I also took away was that I don’t like Marsanne-dominated whites which tend to be a tad dirty for my palate and I really don’t like the super, pushed Châteauneuf that use too much new oak. Other highlights and in my shopping basket for next week when the offer goes live are:

Red

Ch. La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape: 2 cases (bts and Mags and 1 dbl mag) – £300
Show stopper! and for bang for bucks my Bargain of the Vintage (18.5/20). Fabulously ripe and creamy framboises on the nose with gorgeous silky tannins coating and a really generous core of ripe plump red fruits. Scrumptious!!!!

Domaine Sénéchaux 2 cases Châteauneuf-du-Pape – £192
Made by our buddies at Lynch Bages they have raised the bar dramatically on this underachieving CNDP since they bought it 2 years ago. This is nothing short of joyous and I think you’ll be able to enjoy it from arrival and over the next 10 years… and… it’s a great price. Now all we need to do is get their 2008 Lynch down!!!!(16.5/20)

Chave 1 case Mon Coeur – £96.
Bargain. Sit back and quaff. (15/20)

Chave 1 case Saint Jo Offerus – £162.
Silky and seductive (16.5/20)

Domaine Coursodon 1 case Saint Jo, Le Paradis St Pierre Rouge – £264.
80-year-old vines creating such beautiful concentration. Fantastic. (17.5/20)

Perrin Père et Fils 1 case Gigondas la Gille. Sumptuous and great value £144.
Like a beautiful Chambolle. (15.5/20)

Ch. du Beaucastel 2 cases Coudoulet Rouge – £126.
Bargain of the vintage. Brilliant vibrant fruit and very complex. It’s Châteauneuf in all but name. Delicious. (16.5/20)

Ch. du Beaucastel THE Châteauneuf  – £246 for 6 bts.
Just brilliant. It’s like a spectrum of grape varieties with Grenache and the awesome Mourvèdre. (19/20)

Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf – £174 for 6 bts.
Harmonious. (17/20)

Clos des Papes 1 case Petit Vin d’Avril NV Vin De Table – £98.
Ok its not le Grand Vin for £1000, but what a charming bargain. (15/20)

Domaine La Soumade 2 cases Rasteau Cuvée Confiance – £204 .
I NEVER thought I’d buy a Rasteau. I’d NEVER heard of Rasteau but this was one of the stars of the trip. (17.5/20)

Vignobles Brunier Châteauneuf Télégramme – £174 (16/20) and a case of the Grand Vin at £336 (17.5/20)

Phew! Now that’s a lot of wine (21 cases!!) but it’s so varied and going through my tasting book again just got me very excited about their arrival so I can start tucking into them. I can’t wait for my next eye-opener. I’ve just heard through the jungle drums they actually make wine outside France!!! (I jest….a bit)