Bordeaux is trumpeting its 2005 harvest, but in the Rhône the 2004 vintage is also looking pretty good, writes Joe Breen.
For someone whose family has been central to the wine-making tradition of the great southern Rhône village of Cairanne, Denis Alary is remarkably quiet and unassuming. But this man is obviously happy to let his wines do the talking: first the whites, with a smooth confidence, and then the more sensuous reds, including the wonderful Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne "La Font d'Estevenas" 2004. It didn't take long for the conversation to pick up. I think it fair to say that we all had a good time at a recent dinner in Dublin hosted by the Rhône specialist Simon Tyrell, Alary's Irish distributor.
The Alary family has a long and illustrious history of making wine in Cairanne, one of the 18 villages allowed to put their name on Côtes du Rhône Villages. These include Rasteau, Chusclan and Plan de Dieu. The villages produce what is considered to be the best wine of the 70-plus communities that make up the broad appellation of Côtes du Rhône Villages; almost 200 villages come under the wider umbrella.
Strangely and somewhat controversially, Cairanne has not yet been awarded its own local appellation, such as was awarded recently to Beaumes de Venise for its reds, which now stand beside such legends as Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Châteauneuf du Pape, Hermitage and Gigondas. It is strange, because along with Alary there are other much-lauded producers in this region of consistently excellent wines, including his cousins at Domaine de l'Oratoire St-Martin.
The 2004 vintage is now considered one of the best in recent years, a claim that was verified at a recent tasting of Rhône wines costing up to €17 organised by Sopexa, the French food and wine board. With each sample we were struck by the fullness and great character of the region's reds, with their rich fruit and spicy chocolate flavours, while the less vaunted whites were equally impressive. It's a strong vintage and offers great value, especially when set against the hoopla surrounding the 2005 output from Bordeaux.