Fiona Taylor, of Christopher Piper Wines, discusses a delightful wine for an autumn evening.
Anyone lit their fire yet ? I’ve been eyeing up the logbasket, subconsciously looking for matches and checking the wine rack for stocks of red wine.
I am a seasonal creature of habit and autumn to me represents sitting by the fire with a glass of bramble rich red wine, cat on my lap and feet up.
It’s also the time for picking up fresh pheasant from the local butcher, partridge and grouse, and if you can find them little, tasty, ptarmigan. Slow roasted with herbs, nestling into root vegetables and crispy potatoes, a glass of red makes the perfect accompaniment.
For all the Rhône enthusiasts out there, we thoroughly recommend wines from Vincent Rochette at Domaine Roche-Audran.
Vincent is highly motivated and energetic and has already made a name for himself with his superbly sculpted Visan and Côtes du Rhones.
He has been practising bio-dynamic and organic agriculture for the past seven years, which can clearly be seen in the sheer purity of his wines.
A walk in the vineyard block behind the winery reveals a fantastic eco-system where wildlife, insects, flowers and fauna, that had long disappeared, have returned in abundance.
This indeed was one of the ‘happiest’ vineyards that we have ever visited!
A glass of Vincent’s César Rouge should hit the spot.
It is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. The Grenache is from 55-100-year-old vines and the Syrah and Mourvedre vines are a minimum of 50 years old. Or how about a glass of Visan Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2016 ?
Stunning is a word that can easily be over-used but it is hard to think of another word for the quality of all his 2016 wines.
His wines have an additional depth to them and a ripeness which show their silky texture as much as their flavours.
Vincent also produces a white Côtes du Rhône, a Cuvée Nature made without any sulphur, two top red Cuvées plus a deliciously rich sweet red, full of crystallised cherry flavours and aromas.
All of course available at Christopher Piper Wines.
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