Tasting at the right temperature is the essential condition for appreciating a vintage at its true value. At the start of the year, the Cotes du Rhone set out to conquer freshness in tasting, even if it means overcoming certain prejudices, and have decided to convey this message from the summits of the Alpe d’Huez resort (Isère), to the occasion of international comedy film festival.
A slowdown in consumption, a disaffection for red wines and especially tannic wines, service practices which do not always do justice to the wine and do not help to stop these trends: the appellation decides to react by stepping up to the plate with the idea of refreshed consumption. As Denis Alary, winemaker in Cairanne at the domain of the same name (AB) and president of the production section at Inter Rhône, points out, “the key word in consumption, whether national or global, is freshness. And this obviously begins at the estate, with choices on the blend, rigorous and daily monitoring of vinification, harvest dates to be chosen carefully, to the nearest day, the choice to keep part of the harvest in whole bunches, and, above all, the ability to reset all these parameters each year to best match the vintage.”
A common narrative
To produce a vintage, as to produce a film, it takes time, developing a scenario, preparing for unforeseen events, choosing your performers and your entire cast carefully, and mastering the technique, to create an emotion: the choice to be partner of the festival was therefore natural, and what better environment than the snow-capped peaks to talk about freshness. The initial pitch is simple: tasting a wine that is too hot would be like watching an action film on a very small screen or a comedy film alone on a depressed evening: a waste. Months, even years of work ruined for a simple final mistake.
A simple rule for a happy ending: 20-20
To avoid this catastrophic scenario, the Côtes du Rhône recommends the 20-20 rule: for white wines, we take them out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving to bring them to between 8 and 11 degrees, and for red wines, we place in the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving, to bring them to 15/16 degrees. For Florence Quiot, president of the trading section and general director of the Quiot vineyards (including Château du Trignon in AOC Côtes du Rhône, HVE), the challenge lies in the fact of “preserve our identity, for example with red wines with recognizable tannins, but work on finesse and elegance, while satisfying consumer trends. The reuse of historic grape varieties can be a promising avenue for confronting global warming and contributing to the production of fresh wines, among a set of measures covering the entire production at the estate.
2024-01-23 11:47:34
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