Martha Shaver, Proprietaire

>u]New Arrivals!

New Rhones arriving!!

And now - a bit about the Rhone!!



According to Senior editor of the Wine Spectator, James Molesworth:



“Since I began covering the region in 2004, it’s been an embarrassment of riches. The southern portion of the valley has cruised along with a string of outstanding vintages, though they have been quite different in style from year to year. The north has also been consistent, if not as spectacular, from 2004 through 2007. However, now comes the tricky part ….



The 2008 harvest wasn’t an easy one for Rhône vignerons. In the Northern Rhône, the bulk of the growing season was cloudy and rainy—not a recipe for success. Disease was an issue, and underripe grapes were still hanging as September approached, when some heavy rains fell. At the time, some growers thought they might not even make wine.



Luckily, after the early September rain, the weather cleared and the mistral<—the fierce, drying, northerly wind that sweeps down through the valley—blew for a four-week stretch through mid-October. The vintage was saved from apparent disaster, though severe selections had to be done for successful wines to be made. Yields are low.



2009 was a different story however. The growing season was warm and dry, sanitary conditions in the vineyards were ideal, and ripening came relatively early and easily. The colors, aromas and tannins are abundant in the wines, and the vintage looks to bear large-scale wines in a structure-driven style, à la 2005, with normal yields to boot. The key in 2009 was tannin management—are the wines too astringent, or were producers able to achieve balance in their wines?”