Wine at Château Chavagnac
Check out our Wine List for 2011 here (pdf download)
New 2010 Wine Caves Guide (pdf download)
Visting caves and wine tasting...
Drinking and buying wine at the Château...
“When
I drink a great Rhone, it is as if my heart and palate have traded
places”
“
France’s and the world’s most underrated great wines…”
Wines of the Rhone Valley (1996), Robert Parker
Château Chavagnac is the ideal place to stay to explore the
great wines of the northern Rhone Valley. We are situated in the heart
of northern Rhone wine territory, on the granite Ardèchoise hills
of the west bank of the Rhone, a short drive up through terraced Saint
Joseph vineyards from Tournon and Tain L’Hermitage. Across
the river above Tain are the famous west facing slopes of Hermitage and nearby
the vineyards of Crozes-Hermitage. We are within easy reach of Cote
Rotie,
Condrieu and Château Grillet to the north. Travelling south takes
you through Saint Peray and Cornas, followed by Cotes
du Rhône,
before eventually reaching Châteauneuf du Pape and
the rest of the southern Rhône, about an hours drive from us.
For wine enthusiasts there really is no better base from which to explore the northern Rhône than Château Chavagnac – as the only ‘4 epis’ rated chambres d’hôtes within 30 km’s of Tain L’Hermitage. Many people find they have a far more relaxed, friendly, enjoyable and restful stay in a chambre d’hotes than a hotel and ours is easily the most charming and beautifully situated for many miles around.
We can tell you all about the local wines and winemakers, share our guide books and other wine reference literature, and then point you in the right direction for visiting caves and tasting wine. We have a well stocked and carefully selected cellar than represents the best of northern Rhone wine, from which you can select a bottle to enjoy with your table d’hôtes dinner and even buy a few cases (at caves prices) when you leave (although you may need to give us advance notice).
We supply wine from the three big northern Rhône houses; Chapoutier, Guigal and Jaboulet, as well as three or four smaller highly treasured growers. We are very fortunate to have made friends with a local wine expert, who lives less than a mile away and has spent the last twenty years building up a superb knowledge of local wine making, and in the process establishing relationships which help open doors to some of the more exclusive growers. We don’t guarantee anything, but if you give us plenty of notice we may be able to arrange for him to give you a special one day tour. In any case, we will do our best to give you the inside track on what is happening with Rhône valley wine. We are also now running special three day/four night “Wine Tours" (one in autumn, one in spring), with a carefully designed itinerary combining wine tours (arranged by our guide) with other activities to give you an experience of the other treasures of the Rhône valley and Ardèche. This special package mixes evening table d’hôtes at Château Chavagnac with dinner at one or two of the several local Michelin starred restaurants. What more could you want!
Now Go To:
Visiting caves and wine tasting...
Drinking and buying wine at the Château...
Pierre and Jean Gonon's St Joseph vineyard in Saint Jean de Muzols, overlooking the Rhone at Tournon and Tain l'Hermitage. Note: even the ties are organic!
About the Rhône Valley wine region…
Côtes du Rhône is probably the most diverse wine region in
France. From the very different full-body red wines of Côte Rôtie
in the north and Châteauneuf du Pape in the south to the exquisite
white wine of Condrieu and Château Grillet and the fruity red wines
of Crozes Hermitage and of the southern Rhône region. (from
http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/cdr.htm)
In
the northern Rhône vineyards, Syrah is king and Viognier is
queen. These two grapes, currently among the most fashionable in the
international wine world, come from vineyards that cling often precariously
to the hillsides of the river’s narrow gorge between Vienne and
Tain l’Hermitage.
(From the Wine Atlas of France, Hubrecht Duijker)
I
have been visiting France professionally as a wine critic for twenty-two
years, and have never seen such a quality transformation
in a viticultural
region as I have witnessed in the Rhône Valley over the last four
or five years. A new, young generation of winemakers has increasingly
taken charge of their family domaines. This has resulted in a refreshing
new, open-minded approach to winemaking where the goal is simple - high
quality... No region of France, with the possible exceptions of Languedoc-Roussillon
and Burgundy, has made as much qualitative progression as the Rhône
Valley. This new generation, mostly under 35-years of age, and are in
positions of extraordinary power and influence within their respective
appellations. They are revolutionizing the quality of wines consumers
receive, and for that we should all be grateful.
(From “The younger generation in Rhone and their immense quality
progression” October, 2000, The Wine Advocate - Robert Parker)
Some Rhone wine links of the web
http://www.terroir-france.com/wine/cdr.htm
http://www.wineaccess.com/expert/tanzer
Books on Rhone wine:
The Wines of the Northern Rhone - by John Livingstone-Learmonth, 2005
Can be found on Amazon.co.uk here
Synopsis
Home to the spicy Syrah, or Shiraz, and the floral Viognier grapes, the northern Rhone Valley is one of France's oldest wine-growing regions; its appellations include Hermitage, Cote-Rotie, Condrieu, Crozes-Hermitage, St-Joseph, and Chateau-Grillet. With evocative descriptions and marvelous insights, this accessible, elegant book, the culmination of more than thirty years following the Rhone, is a comprehensive and authoritative survey of the various estates, winemakers, and their wines. Taking a deeper look at the northern Rhone than Livingstone-Learmonth's highly regarded previous volumes on the Rhone Valley, this revised and up-to-date edition covers more producers and includes more in-depth information on the various terroirs, the histories of the wines, and the methods for making the wines. Livingstone-Learmonth concentrates on letting the producers explain their outlook and methods and includes much local color. "The Wines of the Northern Rhone" includes: assessments of thousands of wines, with guide dates on when to drink and how long to age them; winemakers' views on what foods best accompany their wines; new vineyard maps for each appellation; detailed descriptions by growers discussing the effect of different soils on their wines; precise information on how each domaine makes its wines; and new research on the historical links between Hermitage and Bordeaux.
Wines of the Rhone Valley, Robert Parker, 1997
Can be found at Amazon.co.uk here
Synopsis
In the precursor to this book, "The Wines of the Rhone Valley and Provence", first published in 1987, Robert Parker began a campaign to share with the wine consumer the wealth of wines to be found from this under-appreciated region. He believes that the finest wines of the Rhone Valley rival the greatest first-growths of Bordeaux and the grand crus of Burgundy. Although wine has been produced in the Rhone Valley for 2000 years, and many of today's wines come from the oldest vineyards in France, in recent centuries these wines have been misunderstood, ignored and consequently undervalued. In this revised edition of "Wines of the Rhone Valley", updated and greatly expanded to reflect changes in the region, new personalities and the latest vintages, Parker provides the key to enjoying the winemaking world's best-kept secret. The book is divided into two main sections - the lush valleys of the northern Rhone and the sunbaked hillsides of the southern - profiling each appellation. A handy summary box provides information at a glance, including types of wines produced, grape varieties planted and number of acres under vine. The price range of the wines is listed, along with an assessment of their quality and ageing potential. The description of each appellation that follows - its history and personalities, successes and failures - is accompanied by a rating of recent and older vintages using Parker's 50-100 point scale. He provides his classification of the growers of each appellation, explaining how the wines are vinified and bottled and advising how long to cellar and when to serve the wines. He also provides guidelines on what a visitor travelling in the Rhone Valley can expect to pay for a meal as well as recommending restaurants and lodgings. This is a resource for every wine lover, highlighting both the greatest wines of the Rhone Valley and the region's finest wine values.
