As a négociant in the region for two decades, Michel Tardieu knows a thing or two about the best vineyard sites in the Rhône Valley. His hand-shake relationships with the region's leading growers allowing him exclusive access to some of the Rhone's top old vine parcels. Working side by side with his son Bastien, Michel checks each vineyard throughout the growing season to assess the quality of the berries, coordinating the timing for harvest and determining how to ferment the grapes to best express each individual terroir. It's a tall order for such a staggering range of wines, but somehow quality is never compromised, as these are always some of the most lauded examples of top appellation in both Northern and Southern Rhône.
Our latest direct-import container arrived loaded up with a comprehensive roster of hits at every price point. There are simply too many to cover each one in detail, but don't miss these must-see highlights, starting with the 97-point 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Speciale. Jeb Dunnuck declares, "The sensationally good Châteauneuf Du Pape Cuvée Spéciale defines the vintage and is up there with the crème de la crème." The 2022 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Galets d'Or offers exceptional value from this great vintage as a sub-$40 gem that's "Nicely balanced and medium to full-bodied, with a focused, elegant style ... and the class to drink spectacularly well for a solid 15 years."
Turning north, the 93-point 2023 Crozes-Hermitage Vieilles Vignes is "a gorgeous Northern Rhône Syrah that brings the fruit and texture," giving brilliant voice to this appellation that offers more bang for the buck than anywhere in the north. The 2020 Hermitage Rouge is also a sheer classic, "heady and seductive" representation with a pair of 96-point scores. Dunnuck extols its "wonderful purity and elegance," while Decanter calls it "concentrated, intense and long, with a good sense of firmness and intensity." We're just scratching the surface of the excellent line-up below, which probably offers more unbeatable Rhône class and character than most cellars have room for.
Heady and seductive aromas of violets atop blood orange, wild strawberries, black plums, blackberries and rose linger on the nose. Its rich, robust palate remains juicy with firm youthful tannins and refreshing acidity, giving tremendous lift to its fresh fruit core. With a proper decant, this wine can be enjoyed now or cellared well through 2035+.
96 points, Anna-Christina Cabrales, Wine Enthusiast (Dec 2023)
Good sense of weight, volume and depth here. The acidity is marked and nicely integrated, as is the alcohol and the oak for that matter - a harmonious, though certainly a sizeable and mighty wine. Concentrated, intense and long, with a good sense of firmness and intensity, the tannins are plentiful but all saturated in fruit. This will be good in time, but wait.
96 points, Decanter (Oct 2021)
I think the 2020 Hermitage is slightly more successful than the Côte Rôtie, and it's certainly one of my favorites in the lineup. Deep purple-hued with plenty of power and richness, it has classic aromatics, lots of darker, almost blue fruits, some distinct minerality, a good spine of acidity, and supple tannins. It's not the most massive or concentrated Hermitage in the vintage, yet it has wonderful purity and elegance. Give bottles 2-4 years and enjoy over the following two decades.
95 points, Jeb Dunnuck (May 2023)
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