A week ago we started noticing posters and ads for the ‘83rd Marché aux Vins de Côte-Rôtie’ in a place called Ampuis. Looking at the map, we could see that Ampuis was only about 30 miles south of Lyon. One thing we noticed was that there was no location given in Ampuis. How were we to find the marché, we wondered? At least until we looked on line at the town and the affair. Ampuis is a very small village in the Rhone River valley – finding this affair should be no problem.
First, a word about the grapes and wines of the Rhône valley, and more specifically about the small area known as the ‘Côte-Rôtie’, or Roasted Hillside, so-called because the vineyards are often on steep, rocky hillsides where they are exposed to the glare of the often very hot summer sun. Most wines in France are produced and sold as wines from a specific area. The name of the area will carry a reputation that should appeal to a segment of potential customers. Because of quality problems with wines in general in the distant past, the French Government, often at the behest of the quality wine producers, established rules about grape varieties allowed in an area, quantity of harvest per hectare of vines, quantity of wine produced per quantity of grapes, vinification methods, etc. These rules especially apply if one wishes to call one’s wine a ‘Bordeaux’, or a ‘Côtes du Rhône’, etc. While the result has been wines of superb quality, the rules can have a side-effect of suppressing experimentation with different grape varieties in an area. For instance, the valley of the Rhône might be a good area to grow Cabernet Sauvignon, but if that were done, the resulting wine cannot be labeled with any specific appellation currently in use in the area. That’s because the allowed grape varieties are primarily syrah, grenache, carignan, and mourvedre for reds. In the Côte-Rôtie area specifically, they are syrah for reds and viognier for whites. Interestingly, some vintners are using up to 20% viognier in their RED wines, an allowed practice that adds an interesting floral note to an otherwise usually dark, full-bodied wine.
The Côte-Rôtie wine market, one of oldest and best in France, features more than 60 producers pouring, and selling, more than 200 wines from the Côte-Rôtie and from some surrounding areas such as Condrieu and St Joseph. [A note about Condrieu - the renowned British wine writer, Robert Joseph states that 'the white wines of Condrieu are the best in the Rhone and have recently acquired almost cult status' - it was easy to see why!]
For 8 Euros each, we got a quality Spiegelau wine glass and entrance to the affair, held in the Ampuis lycée gymnasium. Many of our fellow tasters were obviously locals come to check out the latest releases and in some cases, to see what their competition was up to.
We had a great time tasting some wonderful wines, watching other people do the same, and listening to animated conversations about the wines. [Interestingly, at least ¾ of the visitors appeared to be middle-aged men!] The wines we tasted varied from full bodied reds with notes of tar and flowers to incredibly perfumed viogniers. The reds all avoided the sometimes too-heavy feel of some American and Australian syrahs, and American producers can only dream of producing these kinds of viogniers.
We purchased a few bottles [3- Côte-Rôtie reds, and 2 Condrieu whites] for our modest closet ‘cellar’, and did a bit of sight-seeing on the way home.
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