Some of my favorite red wines this summer – well, actually pretty much all the time – are the wines of the southern Rhône in France, especially the aristos of the region, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and last night I drank an absolute corker, M.Chapoutier’s La Bernadine 2003.
Michel Chapoutier is a star in the northern Rhône where is name is a familiar sight on bottles from top appellations like Côte–Rôtie and Hermitage. But he also makes wine in Châteauneuf, and unlike many outsiders, he’s pretty good at it. He makes traditional style wines – thank God – not the sort of too ripe, too sweet, too much new oak Parker wines designed to garner high ratings for ambitious if misguided producers.
Read More