andezon

2017 SOUTHERN RHONES: MORE GOOD VALUE STUFF

We’ll take this opportunity to make a couple of points. First is the vintage, 2017. In short, it’s a really smart vintage with plenty of bright fruit and great freshness. If it had come in the middle of the 70s, 80s, or 90s, it would have been hailed as special. These days, with global warming and following one of the best vintages of modern times in 2016, 2017 likely won’t ever get the respect it is due. That will likely have a greater impact on the higher end as collectors tend to focus on ‘the best’, but there will be a consistent source of tasty opportunities in the more moderate price ranges on things like Cotes du Rhones, Rasteaus, et. al..

Moving forward, that discussion is a preface to us talking about a wine that has been something of a staple here since Eric Solomon hooked up with Jean-Francois Nicq at Les Vignerons d’Estézargues to create the Domaine de Andezon label back in 1995. This is one of those rare cooperatives that is dialed into the growers and has the resources, and the flexibility to create some very interesting juice. Ten growers in this network vinify their best lots from which the coop creates the d’Andezon blend using no cultured yeasts, no filtering, no fining and no enzymes during vinification or aging and only add a small amount of SO2 at bottling.

The track record for this wine is pretty remarkable, garnering 90 points or greater many times since its inception, no easy feat for a wine that has never exceeded $12 on our shelves. What is perhaps somewhat kitschy about Andezon is that, even though the cooperative is near Avignon in the south, and sources grapes from the surrounding area, the majority of the wine is Syrah (writers says 100% Syrah, importer notes say there is a small amount of Grenache). Ripe, substantial and character-filled, as always, the 2017 Domaine d’Andezon Cotes du Rhone also has a lift and brightness befitting the vintage. As always, it’s the consummate value at $10.98.

Jeb Dunnuck, former Wine Advocate ‘Rhone guy’ now with his own service, confirms, “Deeply colored, the 100% Syrah 2017 Côtes du Rhône Domaine D’Andézon (brought up all in concrete) reminds me of a Côtes du Rhône from Pierre-Marie Clape with its iron, violets, plums, white pepper, and sappy aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, supple, and elegant on the palate, it’s a fleshy, delicious Syrah well worth seeking out. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years… 91 Points.”

‘HOUSE RED’ CANIDATE

We’ll take the opportunity to make a couple of points. First is the vintage, 2017. In short, it’s a really smart vintage with plenty of bright fruit and great freshness. If it had come in the middle of the 70s, 80s, or 90s, it would have been hailed as a special vintage. These days, with global warming and following one of the best vintages of modern times in 2016, it likely won’t ever get the respect it is due. That will likely have a greater impact on the higher end, but there will be a consistent source of opportunities in the more moderate price ranges on things like Cotes du Rhones, Rasteaus, et. al..

Moving forward, that discussion is a preface to us talking about a wine that has been something of a staple here since Eric Solomon hooked up with Jean-Francois Nicq at Les Vignerons d’Estézargues to create the Domaine de Andezon label back in 1995. This is one of those rare cooperatives that is dialed into the growers and has the resources and the flexibility to create some very interesting juice. Ten growers in this network vinify their best lots from which the coop creates the d’Andezon blend using no cultured yeasts, no filtering, no fining and no enzymes during vinification or aging and only add a small amount of SO2 at bottling.

The track record for this wine is pretty remarkable, garnering 90 points or greater many times since its inception, no easy feat for a wine that has never exceeded $12 on our shelves. What is perhaps somewhat kitchy about Andezon is that, even though the cooperative is near Avignon in the south, and sources grapes from the surrounding areas, the majority of the wine is Syrah (writers says 100% Syrah, importer notes say there is a m=small amount of Grenache). Ripe, substantial and character-filled, as always, the 2017 Domaine d’Andezon Cotes du Rhone 2017 also has a lift and brightness befitting the vintage. As always, it’s the consummate value at $10.98.

Jeb Dunnuck, former Wine Advocate ‘Rhone guy’ now on his own, confirms, “Deeply colored, the 100% Syrah 2017 Côtes du Rhône Domaine D’Andézon (brought up all in concrete) reminds me of a Côtes du Rhône from Pierre-Marie Clape with its iron, violets, plums, white pepper, and sappy aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, supple, and elegant on the palate, it’s a fleshy, delicious Syrah well worth seeking out. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years… 91 Points.”

A Dandy Andezon in 2016

The Cotes du Rhone from Andezon has been on our radar for a long time. It was on the front cover of our old printed newsletter at least once (maybe even a rare second time come to think of it). So given our experience thus far with the ‘little’ 2016s in the southern Rhone, we were quite anxious to see how this Eric Solomon staple for more than two decades fared.

The brief background story for those that don’t know this one by now is as follows. Back in 1994, Eric Solomon visited the Vignerons d’Estézargues Co-operative winery and met a young, passionate director/winemaker named Jean-François Nicq. By the end of the day, they had decided on a custom bottling of old-vine Syrah (30-60 year old vines) from one of their best parcels, Andezon, that had been previously sold in bulk to a “very famous producer in the Rhone Valley”. The rest, as they say, is history.

To repeat, unlike most Cotes du Rhones, the Andezon is predominantly Syrah with a little Grenache (up to 10% depending on the vintage, though some will claim it’s all Syrah), unlike the typically Grenache-dominated cuvees from this part of the world. It sees no oak, they use no cultured yeasts, no filtering, no fining and no enzymes during vinification or aging, and only add a small amount of SO2 at bottling. Les Vignerons d’Estézargues has begun to practice ‘natural winemaking’, for those interested in that sort of thing, and have to be one of the only co-ops in the world to do so.

As for the wine itself, the Les Vignerons d’Estezargues Cotes du Rhone Andezon 2016 is certainly the best example of this cuvee we have tasted, and that is saying something. The signature of the vintage is here…deep, riveting fruit, uncommon richness yet with energy and lift. We could go on but the prose of Wine Advocate’s Joe Czerwinski certainly makes the point, “The 2016 Cotes du Rhone Andezon is 100% Syrah, aged entirely in tank. It’s a lush, medium to full-bodied wine bursting with ripe blackberries and blueberries. No, it doesn’t have the peppery spice of Syrah from the northern Rhône, but it does have enough cola-like spicy complexity to warrant an outstanding rating…91 points“

In closing, it is important to make another point we refer to as the ‘theory of relativity’. When a vintage this spectacular comes along, there is a tendency for reviewers to calibrate reviews between wines, and not necessarily factor in the vintage itself. That’s not necessarily a criticism, but it is a fact. People don’t always account for the fact that the whole category is working far above the norm.

The salient point is that better wines in lesser vintages often get higher scores than they should and, in outstanding vintages, the wines don’t necessarily get their due within the broader historical perspective. Pull out this ’91-pointer’ and put it up against similar ‘performers’ from other vintages down the road and this will dominate. The 2016s are that good, and this one will outperform the ‘number’ in the glass. Good times, 2016 continues to look like one of the best vintages we have ever sold .