Faury 2010 Indication Géographique Protégée Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah (Rhône) – Seems to exist on two planes at once; the first earthy, herbal, a little porcine, and the second a high-toned, edgier, sort of nervous black fruit that’s not all that fruity. I suspect the twain will integrate in time, but it’s still appealing now. It just takes a little more energy to corral its dualism in the glass. (11/11)
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vdp des collines rhodaniennes
Julie Faury
Faury 2009 Collines Rhodaniennes (Rhône) – Congratulations to the Collines Rhodaniennes for their promotion to IGP. As for this, it’s pretty classic by-the-numbers Rhônishness, herein described as a good thing. Blackberry-ish fruit more meat-like than sweet-berried, herbs, a bit of dark brood, and a warmth that doesn’t come so much from alcohol as it does from general sun-drenchedness. A nice wine. (7/11)
Past-tense bloom
Ogier 1999 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes “La Rosine” Syrah (Rhône) – Sophisticated. Dust and pepper. Perfumed. From the ultra-cold cellar that is the source of so many of the older Rhônes I drink, but in this particular case I think the bottles from my warmer but more consistent cellar have shown better of late. Probably cork variation. (5/11)
Rosine-cheeked
Ogier 1998 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah “La Rosine” (Rhône) – Desert-blown red dust, with breaths of iron and blood, carrying the vivid memory of soil and old red fruit. Not as old as I’m making it seem…in fact, it’s still quite lovely, and I’m glad I held on to some this long…but it’s a faded rose, still brilliant with color and the illusion of life, but never going to get any better than it is right now. (12/09)
Collines all Rhônes
Ogier 1998 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodanniennes Syrah “La Rosine” (Rhône) – I’d call this ready, and in a showy, very approachable state of said readiness. “Sweet” fruit turned into that marvelous mix of animal, vegetable, and mineral that characterizes older syrah, with some pepper and earth complexity and a very pleasant, medium-length finish. Intro to Aged Rhône 101, lesson one. (8/09)
Lybel suit
Cuilleron 2008 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah Rosé “Lybel” (Rhône) – Soupy, sticky, devoid of sufficient balancing acidity, and with the same sickly, oily note that infects almost all of Cuilleron’s wines. (7/09)
Pshaw
![[vineyard]](http://www.domainepichat.com/vigne/vigne1.jpg)
Pichat 2005 Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah (Rhône) – Cardboardy and difficult. Not corked, but not good either. (6/09)
Collines all cars
Ogier 1997 Syrah Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes “La Rosine” (Rhône) – Ash, mud, soy, and baked fruit. It’s not bad, but it’s past its prime, as the tannin and acid now stick out of the wine like rabbit-ear antennae, and the usual Rhône meatfruit is getting more than a little drawn. (4/09)
MTM spinoffs
Ogier 1998 Syrah Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes “La Rosine” (Rhône) – Still not entirely open, and there’s something Ogier does (or doesn’t do) to these wines that makes me wonder about TCA for the first few minutes after opening. With enough air, however, worries dissipate. There’s old bacon here…not rancid, but that’s lost its smoked porcine verve…grilled pork, and smoky leather over a bed of gravel; it’s the latter that forms, for me, a sort of signature for this wine, along with a more vibrant acidity than one often finds in Northern Rhônes. All that said, I believe I’ll leave the rest in the cellar for a few years yet. (8/07)