Tasting wines with contrasting aromatic and structural qualities side-by-side is a great way of calibrating your palette and improving your tasting skills. But training yourself to recognise the characteristics of a particular grape variety or blend is another matter.  

The excellent Guild Som’ has a series of podcasts on blind tasting. In the episode called ‘Study methods for improving your blind tasting’ they suggest that to really get to know a particular grape variety or regional blend you should line up as many samples and taste them non blind side by side.

Sounds obvious right? But normally when tasting a wine one is focusing on what if anything makes it unique and interesting.  Here one is looking for common characteristics and similarities. By making detailed notes you can then look for any consistent ‘tells’ to help identify the variety. It is still worth looking at the differences to help understand what the range of tolerance for a grape variety is. I guess the process also helps embed a personal taste memory that can be triggered when you come across it again.

So at a recent Big Rhone Tasting by the excellent Yapp Brothers I decided to try this out and see what I could learn.  First the whites here and then the reds will follow.

Part 1: White Rhone

White Southern Rhone

Cotes du Rhone Chateauneuf du Papes. Well these are tricky! So many different grape varieties and combinations and not really enough of a sample on this occasion to make generalisations about. They all had similar structure: medium acidity, full body & highish alcohol and varying levels of viscous mouth feel.

White Northern Rhone – Croze Hermitage, Saint Joseph and Hermitage.

These but can be 100% either.  These wines were also full bodied but were fresher and more structured. The texture was viscous but somehow firmer. Whilst there were floral notes and ripe stone fruit they were in essence savoury and many had a saline note. Use of oak was evident to varying degrees. (Wow the Jean-Loius Chave wines were amazing!)

White Northern Rhone – Condrieu

Made from 100% Viognier these wines all had a lot in common. Although sometimes toasty oak masked the nose there were pretty consistent distinct floral notes of cut flowers and blossom. Interestingly although the level of acidity was only medium the wines managed to have a freshness about them that balanced the full body and oily, viscous texture. (George Vernay really does produce a great range of Viogniers.)

These wines were all fruitier on the nose than the palate where they tended to be more savoury certainly on the finish.

Detailed White Rhone Tasting Notes

Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet: Domaine Saint Gayan ‘L’Oratory’ 2023 13%

A blend of Viognier, Bourboulenc, Clairette, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Very pale watery lemon in colour, ripe apple a floral note peach and some green herbs. Dry with medium acid a viscous elastic quality to the texture, less fruity on the pallet. There are more vegetal and rooty notes and spice on the palate. Medium plus in length.

Lirac: Domaine Maby ‘La Fermade’ Blanc 2023 14.5%

Grenache Blanc (55%) Clairette (25%), Piquepoul (15%) and Ugni Blanc (5%). Very pale watery lemon colour, reflective. White flower, orchard fruit, ripe pear, white peach on the nose. Dry with medium acidity and a full body more creamy texture more citrus and vegetable notes on the palate than the nose a little grip?  Medium plus length.

Châteauneuf du Pape: Le Vieux Donjon Blanc 2023. 14%

Clairette, Roussanne. Super pale lemon colour. Medium plus intensity nose quite tight and a bit closed. Some floral notes, ripe apple and pear and a mineral and saline quality. Dry with medium acid full body definitely high alcohol there’s a thick creamy firm texture and again a savoury dominance to the palate with wet stones and a salty note. There is some grip to the sides of the cheek.

Crozes-Hermitage: Alain Graillot Blanc 2023. 13%

Marsanne with some Roussanne. Pale but slightly more lemon colour. The legs are medium but quite quick. On the nose there is orchard fruit, herbs and spicy notes. It is dry with medium acid and has an elastic viscous mouth feel. Again orchard fruit, some peach, herbs and a touch of brine with a dry long finish.

Saint-Joseph: Jean-Louis Chave Sélection ‘Circa’ Blanc 2023. 13.5%

100% Roussanne. Pale and watery lemon colour with medium legs. Some florality, citrus, pear, peach all ripe in character and definite vanilla and toast notes. It’s dry, savoury with medium acid, full body and has an elastic viscous texture. The finish is spicy and a bit salty with a long toasty note.

Hermitage: Jean-Louis Chave Sélection ‘Blanche’ 2021

100% Marsanne. Again medium lemon colour with a watery rim and medium slow legs. The nose has some floral notes smoke, toast, ripe peach and verging on tropical notes. It is dry with medium plus acid, full body and high alcohol but beautifully balanced. It has a silky viscous mouth feel and a slight salty note.

Hermitage: Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Blanc 2019. 15%.

80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne. Medium yellow colour with a watery rim, slow and thick legs. Immediately one notices the toast, smoke and oak notes, then ripe peach, some tropical pineapple notes and vanilla. The pallet is dry with medium acid. It’s rich and concentrated, full-bodied and has a thick viscous mouth feel. Super concentrated, obviously high alcohol but well integrated and it’s very long finishing with some nice salty notes.

Condrieu & Viognier

IGP Collines Rhodaniennes: Domaine Georges Vernay ‘Le Pied de Samson’ 2023. 14.5%

So floral: cut flowers in bloom, peach blossom. The wine has thick and slow legs. It’s dry with medium acidity, medium + body, an oily viscous texture, but balanced with enough freshness to carry it through.

Condrieu: Domaine Georges Vernay ‘Les Terrasses de l’Empire’ 2023. 14%.

Pale colour, slow thick legs. Blossom ripe pear and just ripe peach. On the pallet dry medium acidity, full body with an oily, viscous texture but again a balanced lifted quality.

Condrieu: Domaine Georges Vernay ‘Les Chaillées de l’Enfer’ 2023. 12.5%

Honeysuckle peach and some spice on the nose again, pale but with medium legs. It is dry with medium to medium plus acid medium + body with a silky texture. On the pallet one can still taste cut flowers, its fresher with peach and some spice, it has a long finish.

Condrieu: Domaine Georges Vernay ‘Coteau de Vernon’ 2022. 14%

Pale lemon in colour with thick legs. The florality here is more subtle but there are still cut flowers ripe pear, some peach and a little smoke. It is dry with medium to medium acid and an oily, viscous mouth feel. On the pallet one notices the ripe fruit, peach and pear, herbs and also a touch of toast and smoke. Long finish.

Condrieu: ‘La Carthery’ 2019 Chateau Grillet. 15%

Very pale and watery appearance with thick slow legs. Immediately one notices toast spice then some floral notes and peach but added in with green dried herbs and more smoke. On the pallet it is dry with medium to medium plus acid, full body an oily, viscous and elastic texture. This is an intense and concentrated wine with great balance. It finishes on a long smoky peachy note.