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Plan de Dieu, Château Saint-Jean 2015

Red Wine from France - Rhone
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Good value for a full-flavoured, rich-tasting, spicy Rhône red from the up-and-coming Plan de Dieu area. This stony, sun-baked plateau is heaven for the grenache grape. There used to be a convent on this site, hence the name. One is sure that the holy sisters knew their vineyards as they chose very well!
is no longer available
Code: RH45551

Wine characteristics

  • Red Wine
  • Full-bodied
  • Grenache/Garnacha
  • 14% Alcohol
  • no oak influence
  • Cork, natural

Southern Rhône (excluding Chateauneuf)

Producing over 3.5m hl (hectolitres), this is the second biggest region for production of appellation contrôlée wine in France after Bordeaux. Most is red, though production of both white and pink is growing. Some 20 grape varieties are planted in the south though one in particular, Grenache, gives the region as a whole its identity: generosity, body, weight and a definite tendency to making big wines. More than half of the production is of Côtes-du-Rhône with the best sold as Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. Better still are the so-called crus led by Châteauneuf-du-Pape itself.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape: This large area to the north of Avignon makes the best wines of the south. Reds tend to be grenache based with syrah, mourvèdre and counoise also used. Few wines combine immense strength with perfect elegance quite so convincingly. Word of caution: Châteauneuf produces as much wine as the whole of the northern Rhône put together. A third is very good, a third acceptable and the last third,...
Producing over 3.5m hl (hectolitres), this is the second biggest region for production of appellation contrôlée wine in France after Bordeaux. Most is red, though production of both white and pink is growing. Some 20 grape varieties are planted in the south though one in particular, Grenache, gives the region as a whole its identity: generosity, body, weight and a definite tendency to making big wines. More than half of the production is of Côtes-du-Rhône with the best sold as Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. Better still are the so-called crus led by Châteauneuf-du-Pape itself.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape: This large area to the north of Avignon makes the best wines of the south. Reds tend to be grenache based with syrah, mourvèdre and counoise also used. Few wines combine immense strength with perfect elegance quite so convincingly. Word of caution: Châteauneuf produces as much wine as the whole of the northern Rhône put together. A third is very good, a third acceptable and the last third, undrinkable.

Right bank: Villages include Tavel (rosé only) Lirac, Saint-Gervais and Laudun. There is more rain here but it is also hot and grapes are therefore early ripening. Most of the area lies in the département of the Gard and stretches from the river westwards towards Nîmes where at some ill-defined line in the soil, the Rhône becomes the Languedoc. This is an area that has much improved over the years and has become a valuable source for very fine, concentrated syrah wines in particular.

A little further on are the Costieres de Nimes, a large area of upland plateau, south-east of Nîmes. For the moment the Costières produces good everyday wines of good quality but there is potential to do much more.

Northern hills: There are fresh sub-alpine breezes at work here and as a result the wines often have a distinct freshness too. Just north of Orange is the largely wooded and isolated Massif d'Uchaux. Many of its star producers here are able to farm organically.

The three 'Vs' : Valréas, Visan and Vinsobres: These are three top neighbouring villages (with a 4th, Saint-Maurice broadly similar to Vinsobres). Vinsobres has full cru status and makes superb wine. Best names include Perrin, now the largest land owner and Domaine Jaume whose wines have been charming members since the 1979 vintage.

Valréas and Visan are planted on the same hill but tend to look north. Emmanuel Bouchard is one of the top names in Valréas. Adrien Fabre makes both outstanding examples of both Visan and Saint-Maurice.

Tricastin/Grignan-lès-Adhémar - The Tricastin is a much neglected part of the Rhône and coming down from the northern Rhône, these are the first vines one sees. It's a relatively cool area, far too cold for growing mourvèdre successfully, but the whites do very well and so does the syrah grape. The area has seen a name change as Tricastin is also the name of a power station on the river. The new name for the wines (which doesn't exactly trip off the tongue), is Grignan-lès-Adhémar.

Central hills - This includes the villages of Cairanne and Rasteau along with neighbouring Roaix. Big full-bodied wines, grenache dominated. Rasteau is all power and might while Cairanne is more deicate.

Plan de Dieu - Large flat expanse of pudding stones that seem to stretch as far as the eye can see, in the middle of which there is an airfield, (largely built for the Luftwaffe) surrounded by vines. Full-bodied style. Excellent for mourvèdre. Jaboulet are very good here as is the Meffre family.

Eastern fringes - Set against an iconic landscape with Mont Ventoux and the craggy Dentelles de Montmirail as the backdrop, some of these hillsides were first planted by the Romans and include some of the best-known names in the Rhône Valley.

Gigondas: Mountain wine, late harvested, always dramatic and very full-bodied though never coarse or overweight. These are generous reds, capable of long ageing. A little rosé is also made.

Vacqueyras: Next door to Gigondas yet different. Fruitier, a shade less powerful and more obviously charming:

Beaumes de Venise: The red is as full as Gigondas but rounder and less complex and this village is better known for its sweet muscat, a vin doux naturel and perfect for desserts.

Ventoux: At nearly 2000m this is some mountain which scores of cyclists are forced to conquer every year in the Tour de France. Its lower slopes are vineyard country though. Traditionally these were known as Côtes du Ventoux and were made and sold cheaply. Things are changing though with more estates cutting yields and making full and concentrated wine, not dissimilar to and better value than many Châteauneufs.
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Château Saint Jean

Château Saint Jean is owned by the well-respected Meffre family, whose winemaking history dates back several generations. Gabriel Meffre, who founded a negoçiant business in 1936, and became famous for his excellent-quality Gigondas, went on to own the largest vineyard area in France, with an empire that reached 900 hectares before his death in the 1980s.

His three children inherited their father’s various châteaux and estates, and Château Saint Jean and Château Raspail went to Gabriel’s youngest son, Christian. He remains the manager, although it is now his own son, François, who runs the estates.

Château Saint Jean is situated to the east of Orange, and covers around 140 hectares, with vineyards split between three appellations: Châteauneuf du Pape, Côtes-du-Rhône, and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu.

This latter appellation, situated below Cairanne and Rasteau, was only granted Côtes-du-Rhône Villages status in 2005, but has been known as an excellent area for vineyards since the Middle Ages. The region gets its name – meaning ‘God’s plain’ – from its reputation during the Middle Ages as a dangerous terrain to cross; in doing so, one put oneself in the hands of God!

Like much of the Rhône, the climate here is Mediterranean, with cooling influences from the Mistral, which blows through the vines and helps to keep them free from disease. The chalky gravel soil, interspersed with blue clay and sandstone, helps water to reach the vines during the summer droughts....
Château Saint Jean is owned by the well-respected Meffre family, whose winemaking history dates back several generations. Gabriel Meffre, who founded a negoçiant business in 1936, and became famous for his excellent-quality Gigondas, went on to own the largest vineyard area in France, with an empire that reached 900 hectares before his death in the 1980s.

His three children inherited their father’s various châteaux and estates, and Château Saint Jean and Château Raspail went to Gabriel’s youngest son, Christian. He remains the manager, although it is now his own son, François, who runs the estates.

Château Saint Jean is situated to the east of Orange, and covers around 140 hectares, with vineyards split between three appellations: Châteauneuf du Pape, Côtes-du-Rhône, and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu.

This latter appellation, situated below Cairanne and Rasteau, was only granted Côtes-du-Rhône Villages status in 2005, but has been known as an excellent area for vineyards since the Middle Ages. The region gets its name – meaning ‘God’s plain’ – from its reputation during the Middle Ages as a dangerous terrain to cross; in doing so, one put oneself in the hands of God!

Like much of the Rhône, the climate here is Mediterranean, with cooling influences from the Mistral, which blows through the vines and helps to keep them free from disease. The chalky gravel soil, interspersed with blue clay and sandstone, helps water to reach the vines during the summer droughts. Mourvèdre, grenache and syrah – the principal grapes in the estate’s wines – grow particularly well in these conditions.

Wines from this region, all of which are red, are herby, aromatic and juicy, and provide a superb value option as an alternative to its pricier neighbours, Châteauneuf and Gigondas. However, Christian also still upholds his father’s reputation for wonderful Gigondas at Château Raspail, which remains an important estate in the appellation.
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Southern Rhône Vintage 2015

Certainly 2015 was a vintage that made growers smile. Michel Chapoutier even used the word ‘grandiose’ to describe it! These are generous and seductive wines that will please everyone and bring smiles to the faces of aficionados and first-time en primeur buyers alike.

Recent vintages have often been challenging for one reason or another. Not so 2015, which was as straightforward as is possible.

The weather was hot but, crucially, there was water when it was needed and night-time temperatures often remained cool so that acidities did not burn up, providing crucial freshness in the wines. The crop stayed healthy throughout so that growers were at liberty to choose when to pick at optimum ripeness levels. Philippe Guigal spoke of a perfect vintage in Côte-Rôtie where nothing was picked at below 13.5%, a sure sign of a very ripe year indeed.

Cairanne is one of the best-known villages in the southern Rhône and it has been battling with the powers that be for cru recognition. Having won...
Certainly 2015 was a vintage that made growers smile. Michel Chapoutier even used the word ‘grandiose’ to describe it! These are generous and seductive wines that will please everyone and bring smiles to the faces of aficionados and first-time en primeur buyers alike.

Recent vintages have often been challenging for one reason or another. Not so 2015, which was as straightforward as is possible.

The weather was hot but, crucially, there was water when it was needed and night-time temperatures often remained cool so that acidities did not burn up, providing crucial freshness in the wines. The crop stayed healthy throughout so that growers were at liberty to choose when to pick at optimum ripeness levels. Philippe Guigal spoke of a perfect vintage in Côte-Rôtie where nothing was picked at below 13.5%, a sure sign of a very ripe year indeed.

Cairanne is one of the best-known villages in the southern Rhône and it has been battling with the powers that be for cru recognition. Having won its case, the first vintage of the new cru Cairanne is, by some serendipity, 2015. What a vintage!

Wines throughout the south are rich, generously fruity and full-bodied with the best being on a par with the 2007s. This was a relatively early vintage so it makes sense maybe that those areas that produce more ‘backward’ wines did well, taking fuller advantage of the Indian summer. Cue Gigondas and all those eastern fringes that border on the Dentelles de Montmirail and the Ventoux. These are magnificent wines in 2015. The Châteauneufs, too, have their power back.
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