On the coach promptly at 9am and a drive through beautiful countryside back to the valley. We crossed the river at Sarras, and followed it south to the village of Gervans, looking across to the vineyards of Saint Joseph.
At Domaine Laurent Fayolle we were guided by Tiphaine, who works in the winery and vineyard and was a marvellous source of information about both. She led us through the cellar, visiting the red and white barrel rooms and seeing the vessels in which they vinify both types – concrete tanks (including one of a very unusual diamond shape), barrels, amphora and even ‘wine globes’ – spherical glass containers that they have been experimenting with for a few years. Their focus is on retaining the freshness of their wines, even as climate change means grapes grow ever riper – and this showed through in the tasting.
Although they are based in, and have a stellar reputation for, Crozes Hermitages, they make a variety of wines from across the Northern Rhône, including Saint-Péray and Hermitage. We tasted three whites, and four reds, all showing beautiful freshness and complexity with long finishes. Their lieu-dit Clos de Cornirets Crozes Hermitage was a standout for me – dense red and black berry fruit, with black pepper, and a long long finish – definitely worth ageing.
We were then back on the coach for a few minutes’ drive to Tain l’Hermitage, the town at the base of the famous Hill of Hermitage, for our visit with Maison & Domain Alexandrins. After the Jaboulet family had sold their eponymous business, Nicolas Jaboulet partnered with the Perrin family from Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to set up a négociant, and then with the Caso family whose Alexandrins domain brought them their own vineyards.
We met Nathan, their sales manager, in their smaller winery in Tain, and he explained that they have expanded their own vineyards to 78ha, 60 of which are in Crozes-Hermitage, but also in Condrieu, Saint-Joseph and most recently Hermitage itself. We walked among the big oak fermenters and huge foudres that had been brought north from Beaucastel when it was revamped. Nathan explained that most of the activity and wine maturation goes on in their other, newer winery, which is in a nearby village and easier for commercial vehicles to access.
What the older winery has is the most wonderful roof terrace, affording views of the Hill in all its glory. Famous names such as Chapoutier and Jaboulet are painted onto the stone walls, the chapel at the top was clearly in view, and in the brilliant sunshine it looked magnificent. It was too hot to do our tasting on the terrace, but we could still admire the view through the windows.
The tasting was super, for me the Hermitage white was particularly lovely, as was their Saint Joseph (from a vineyard in the original area where the ‘Vin de Mauves’ was made). Their Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage wines provided a super contrast with the Fayolle wines we had just been enjoying, and were also a great accompaniment to the buffet lunch we were served.
We had a spare hour or so, so some ventured to the base of the hill (at 37 Celsius it really was too hot to try to climb up it), and others to the Valrhona chocolate factory shop, before we returned to Saint-Étienne – the bus was pretty quiet!