by Gareth Groves
“And summer’s lease hath all too short a date…”
Once again Shakespeare is spot on. I’m off to God’s Own Country next week for a spot of fishing, walking, swimming, eating and quite probably rain watching: the weather forecast is awful. Instead of one last hurrah for a glorious summer, it may be time to dig out the woolies.
I’ve just ordered some wine to take down the M4 and the contents of the case are a trifle depressing: big reds outnumber crisp whites by some distance. If I am going to be stuck indoors watching The Sopranos all week, I want a warming glass of red to keep me company.
The bottle I will save for a particularly rainy day is Chateauneuf du Pape Domaine Grand Veneur 2008 – a wine that knows all about bad weather. I was in Chateauneuf du Pape in early September 2008 when the heavens dramatically opened and ruined the mood of many a grower. Wading through puddles amongst the vines the next day, the vignerons immense joy at showing off their stupendous 2007s was tempered by the knowledge the 2008s wouldn’t attract the same interest and praise.
So why am I chosing a bottle from a duff, rainy vintage? Because it’s great.
The Jaume family behind Domaine Grand Veneur did all the right things in 2008: performing strict selection in both the vineyards and in the cellars, going easy on the oak, and not producing special cuvees. Rather than making three red Chateauneufs (as they do in good years), all the grapes went into the ‘basic’ bottling. In other words, the family’s best parcels went into this wine rather than being siphoned off for an extra-expensive limited edition cuvee.
The result is a wine that will warm the cockles on a cold, damp summer’s day: deep, spicy, fruity and ripe with bramble fruit and grippy tannins. Best paired with a big bowl of cawl.
Tags: Alain Jaume, chateauneuf du pape, Domaine Grand Veneur, France, Rhone, wine of the week