Rhône
The Rhône Valley, located in southeastern France, is renowned for its exceptional fine wines. With its diverse terroir, rich history, and dedication to quality winemaking, the Rhône Valley offers a captivating selection of wines that embody the region's elegance, complexity, and distinctive character.
The Rhône Valley boasts its own iconic vineyards and wineries, including Château de Beaucastel, Domaine Guigal, and Chapoutier, which are celebrated for producing exceptional wines that showcase the region's unique terroir and winemaking expertise.
The Rhône Valley is renowned for its red wines, particularly in the northern part of the region. Syrah reigns as the dominant grape variety, producing intense and structured wines. Appellations such as Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, and Cornas are known for their robust and age-worthy reds, often displaying notes of black fruits, spice, and earthiness. Famous vineyards such as La Landonne, La Mouline, and Les Bessards are revered for their exceptional expressions of Syrah.
In the southern Rhône Valley, Grenache takes centre stage, contributing to the region's bold and fruit-forward red blends. The renowned appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is famous for its rich and full-bodied red wines, often featuring a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. Vineyards like Château de Beaucastel, Clos des Papes, and Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe produce remarkable wines that showcase the region's commitment to excellence.
The Rhône Valley is also celebrated for its white wines, particularly in the northern part of the region. Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne are the key grape varieties, producing aromatic and complex whites. Appellations like Condrieu and Hermitage produce exceptional white wines known for their floral aromas, stone fruit flavors, and vibrant acidity.
Rhône
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Rhone | 1 | 98+ (JD) | HK$13,255.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (98+)Another incredible white from this family is the 2019 Hermitage Blanc, a powerful, concentrated, and remarkably pure Hermitage that has laser-like focus as well as textbook Marsanne notes of quince, green almond, powdered rock, licorice, and spice. It’s still tight, focused, and inward at present, yet it reminds me of the 2018 with its purity and rare mix of power and elegance. It’s worth trying a bottle any time over the coming 3-5 years, but after that, I’d recommend waiting until after 2031. |
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Rhone | 1 | 99 (JD) | HK$14,880.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (99)Another heavenly white from this estate is the 2020 Hermitage Blanc, which is the usual 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne from a mix lieux-dits. Incredibly perfumed with notes of acacia flowers, buttered stone fruits, toasted brioche, honeysuckle, and crushed stone, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a seamless, layered texture, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a great finish. The purity, balance, and intensity here are just about off the charts, and this beauty deserves a solid decade of bottle age, although you'll be excused if you drink one in its youth as well. |
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Rhone | 1 | 96 (VN) | HK$2,030.00 | |||||
Vinous (96)Vinified from grapes that were harvested as late as the 26th of September, the 2021 L'Hermitage Blanc was cropped at 38 hL/ha, above the levels of 2022. It dazzles with vivid spring blossom, honeysuckle, lemon peel, white peach, quince, apricot and discrete cedar aromas. Medium-bodied and immaculately balanced by bright acidity, this is an athletic L'Hermitage Blanc with marked freshness and energy. A saline aftertaste wraps up the sapid finish. Outstanding. |
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Rhone | 2 | 96 (VN) | HK$11,500.00 | |||||
Vinous (96)Vinified from grapes that were harvested as late as the 26th of September, the 2021 L'Hermitage Blanc was cropped at 38 hL/ha, above the levels of 2022. It dazzles with vivid spring blossom, honeysuckle, lemon peel, white peach, quince, apricot and discrete cedar aromas. Medium-bodied and immaculately balanced by bright acidity, this is an athletic L'Hermitage Blanc with marked freshness and energy. A saline aftertaste wraps up the sapid finish. Outstanding. |
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Rhone | 5 | 97 (JD) | HK$11,220.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (97)Coming from tiny yields of 22 hectoliters per hectare, the 2022 Hermitage Blanc is a focused, pure, and chiseled white Hermitage offering riveting stone fruits, spice, and crushed stone, which turn to blanched almond and subtle brioche with air. Medium to full-bodied, focused, and tight on the palate, yet rich and powerful, it has the structure of a red wine and needs plenty of air if drinking any time soon. It will ideally be enjoyed over the coming 4-5 years or after a decade. |
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Rhone | 1 | 93 (VN) | HK$1,165.00 | |||||
Vinous (93)Deep ruby. Vibrant, sharply focused aromas of fresh dark berries, potpourri and licorice along with a smoky mineral overtone. Juicy and vibrant on the palate, offering concentrated boysenberry and bitter cherry flavors that become sweeter and spicier with air. Fine-grained tannins give shape to the impressively long, mineral-driven finish, which leaves behind sexy floral pastille and spicecake notes. |
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Rhone | 1 | 93 (VN) | HK$8,105.00 | |||||
Vinous (93)(made with 25 percent whole clusters) Inky ruby. Pungent, spice-accented aromas of ripe dark berries, candied violet, licorice and smoky minerals. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering pliant black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors that are complemented and lifted by a jolt of peppery spices. Becomes sweeter and deeper with air, with no loss of energy, and finishes sappy and very long; smooth tannins add shape and grip. |
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Rhone | 1 | 18.5 (JR) | HK$1,055.00 | |||||
Jancis Robinson (18.5)Sample 1: Dardouille. Beautiful black-olive and smoke-tinged nose – granitic graphite notes, fantastic depth of fruit and fine silky tannins with a dollop of spice. Sample 2: Le Clos. Stacks of black pepper, menthol and clove showing on the nose. The palate is densely concentrated but with real energy, freshness and vibrancy. Sample 3: Chaillés. Beautiful whole-bunch aromas of lapsang souchong, smoke, ash and five spice. Fantastic vibrant freshness and sculpted fine tannins. Sample 4: Bachasson. A nose packed full of black-olive tapenade and Lagavulin peaty smoke. The palate has a floral tinge with white pepper and tannins that are fine and silky. There's such finesse here! |
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Rhone | 1 | 96-97 (VN) | HK$3,760.00 | |||||
Vinous (96-97)As with the 2020 L'Hermitage, I tasted this wine in its components, shortly before blending and bottling. This vintage is highly successful at Chave, and this wine, which would qualify as the gateway bottling made from estate fruit, looks to be outstanding, with juicy, spice-laced red and blue fruit character of noteworthy freshness, plus strong florality and mineral drive. I was also struck by the fineness of the tannins, which will likely make the final wine deceptively approachable on release. Don't be fooled - this wine has a long and enviable track record for rewarding patience. |
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Rhone | 3 | - | HK$4,115.00 | |||||
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Rhone | 1 | - | HK$775.00 | |||||
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Rhone | 3 | 94 (VN) | HK$8,845.00 | |||||
Vinous (94)Inky violet color. Displays ripe dark fruit, licorice, olive, potpourri and cracked pepper aromas, plus a smoky mineral flourish that adds an energetic lift. Sappy and broad on the palate, offering appealingly sweet black and blue fruit, cola, licorice and exotic spice flavors that show impressive depth and vivacity. Finishes very long and precise, with a lingering floral quality and dusty, slowly building tannins. |
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Rhone | 1 | 94 (VN) | HK$4,580.00 | |||||
Vinous (94)Inky violet color. Displays ripe dark fruit, licorice, olive, potpourri and cracked pepper aromas, plus a smoky mineral flourish that adds an energetic lift. Sappy and broad on the palate, offering appealingly sweet black and blue fruit, cola, licorice and exotic spice flavors that show impressive depth and vivacity. Finishes very long and precise, with a lingering floral quality and dusty, slowly building tannins. |
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Rhone | 1 | 95 (VN) | HK$900.00 | |||||
Vinous (95)Saturated violet color. Smoky, mineral-accented black and blue fruit scents are complicated by olive paste, licorice and floral nuances that build in the glass. Juicy and energetic in the mouth, offering vibrant blackberry, boysenberry, candied violet and smoky bacon flavors that become sweeter with air. The floral and mineral notes come back strong on the penetrating finish, which shows outstanding persistence and fine-grained, harmonious tannins. |
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Rhone | 1 | 93 (VN) | HK$3,855.00 | |||||
Vinous (93)Full violet color. Heady, spice-accented dark berry, cola and floral pastille scents show excellent clarity and pick up a mineral nuance with aeration. Juicy and expansive on the palate, offering bitter cherry, blueberry and olive paste flavors that are given spine by a core of juicy acidity. Finishes gently sweet, broad and very long, with an echo of candied violet and slowly emerging tannins. |
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Rhone | 1 | 89 (VN) | HK$7,535.00 | |||||
Vinous (89)Deep ruby-red. Very ripe aromas of raspberry, cherry, violet and game. Dense, ripe and sweet, with fruit currently overshadowed by its strong oak component. Finishes with firm but suave tannins and very good length. This is very attractive red wine, but I'm not sure I would identify it blind as Cornas. |
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Rhone | 1 | 5 (JLL) | HK$3,590.00 | |||||
John Livingstone-Learmonth (5)The bouquet is bold, on beef stock, iron, dense black berries, has a poised, integral sweetness, airs of raspberry liqueur, oak smoke. It’s a solid start. The palate has the theme of mineral well placed through it, a lot of mountain of matter, thickening towards the finish. It holds sparkling and dense fruits – cassis, soaked cherries. It is vibrant and very full; there is real flair off its sun-dialled deck. It has great juice; it’s a treat to taste this. Decanting advised. It has a lot of black fruits, a belle freshness to underpin it; it’s very long. |
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Rhone | 2 | 96 (JD) | HK$6,205.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96)The star of the show is the 2019 Côte Rôtie Terrasses, which can thought of as a hypothetical mix of the 2017 and 2018, with perhaps a nod to the 2017. Both red and black fruits, peppery herbs, dried flowers, graphite, and a beautiful sense of minerality define the bulk of the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine, building tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. From a vintage that produced ripe, tannic wines, this stays balanced and pure and is loaded with potential. |
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Rhone | 1 | 96 (JD) | HK$3,430.00 | |||||
Jeb Dunnuck (96)The star of the show is the 2019 Côte Rôtie Terrasses, which can thought of as a hypothetical mix of the 2017 and 2018, with perhaps a nod to the 2017. Both red and black fruits, peppery herbs, dried flowers, graphite, and a beautiful sense of minerality define the bulk of the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine, building tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. From a vintage that produced ripe, tannic wines, this stays balanced and pure and is loaded with potential. |
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Rhone | 2 | 93 (WA) | HK$3,230.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (93)Notes of vanilla pod, honeysuckle, acacia blossoms and flowers introduce the 2022 Condrieu Les Eguets, a medium to full-bodied, sappy and round Condrieu with a beautiful, fleshy core of fruit. Quite precise with a ripe profile, it's saline and mouthwatering on the long, fresh and delicate finish. Matured for 10 months in barrels, 20% are new, this is a great effort. |
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Rhone | 1 | - | HK$13,435.00 | |||||
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Experience the epitome of French luxury with Jean-Michel Gerin Condrieu La Loye 2016. Crafted with finesse and precision in the renowned Rhône Valley, this white wine delivers an intense yet balanced composition of purity and power. The meticulous winemaker, Jean-Michel Gerin, nurtures his Viognier grapes on granite terraces of the La Loye parcel, producing a wine that showcases the authentic character of the varietal. Post-harvest, the wine is matured in oak barrels, emphasising its richness and ensuring its exceptional longevity. This vintage unveils a bouquet of expressive stone fruit aromas, married harmoniously with a mineral core and a lasting, elegant finish. Jean-Michel Gerin Condrieu La Loye 2016 is a testament to Gerin's expertise, transforming the challenging 2016 growing season into an exquisite wine. To be savoured by true connoisseurs, this premium delight is a pivotal addition to any serious collection. |
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