Rhone Vineyards

Chateau Beaucastel

Guigal barrel

Rhône Reserve

22 - 26 March 2010

This is a superb top level wine tour visiting the great names of the Rhône. This versatile and picturesque region has wonderful cuisine, as well as wines, so we are taking the opportunity to enjoy gourmet meals at the top restaurants in the area too.

We are very pleased that award winning wine writer and French wine expert Stephen Brook is leading this tour and we look forward to his comments on the many great wines we will be tasting.

On the first day we meet in Lyons at our 4* hotel and, at a Bouchon, have a traditional Lyonnais dining experience. We spend a day with a masterclass in both Côte Rôtie and Condrieu. Visits are to Guigal’s Château d’Ampuis, where owner Marcel or his son Philippe hope to be with us and to Georges Vernay in the afternoon. We lunch in Condrieu where, workload permitting, Yves Cuilleron of Domaine Yves Cuilleron, Chavanay, will join us.

We stay at a charming family-owned 4* river front hotel in Condrieu and enjoy a Michelin * dinner in their excellent restaurant.

Our day in Hermitage is a pilgrimage to the original kingdom of the Shiraz grape. We enjoy a fascinating tasting at Maison Chapoutier followed by one of the greatest of the Hermitage estates, Domaine Paul Jaboulet Ainé. Lunch is at a Michelin * restaurant accompanied by Jaboulet Ainé‘s wines.

In the afternoon we visit Domaine Clape, leading producer of the powerful, angular Cornas and its sister appellation, the Saint Peray white. We will have an informal but interesting tasting here. The evening is free in the attractive town of Valence. Valence is just south of Tain l’Hermitage and within striking distance of the Southern Rhône.

There are two choices of hotel here, an excellently renovated 3* in the superior rooms or the famous Le Pic, 4*. The 3* is conveniently located and the rooms fresh and modern. Le Pic is a luxury, ultra trendy 4* boutique hotel.

We have a day visiting the Southern Rhône. First, at Château St Côsme, we taste some of the best wines of the top performing Gigondas Appellation.

Lunchtime is in the quaint little town of Châteauneuf du Pape where we will have time to see the ‘chateau’, which is in fact an old watch tower. We then continue with a visit to the great Château de Beaucastel, one of the leading domaines in Châteauneuf du Pape.

We return to Valence where there is the opportunity to dine on the delicate feminine cuisine of Anne-Sophie Pic, at the hotel’s Relais Gourmand, Michelin *** restaurant or at their excellent modern brasserie (optional).
The last morning’s visit is to Alain Paret who owns vineyards in both St-Joseph and Condrieu.
St-Joseph is not always a great wine, the vineyards by a historical accident are quite scattered and variable. However from the master and his top sites they are splendid.

We have our last Michelin * lunch together in Lyons before you return by train or plane. Alternatively extend your stay, there are numerous beautiful towns to visit steeped in history, the Rhône was once the most important economic and political route in the development of Western Europe.

This tour will not feature in our programme again until Autumn 2011 at the earliest.