Our Southern Rhône tour has started. The midday flight from Heathrow to Marseille was on time and the group assembled and made its way to the historic and beautiful town of Avignon. We had a bit of time to see the Palais des Papes and the famous Pont d’Avignon before heading into the centre of town to the restaurant L’Agape. Family owned with friendly service, we dined on fresh white asparagus, beef cheek and a chocolate tart to finish. Washed down with some excellent Côtes du Rhône white and Cairanne red.
Our first full day took us an hour north-east of Avignon right into the heart of the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellations. Domaine de Coyeux was our first stop in the AOC Beaumes de Venise. We were expertly hosted by Adrien and Sylvaine who talked us through the evolution of the estate up until the Strasser-Radziwill family took it over in late 2022. Indeed, I recall our tour in 2023 where they had started major renovations on the property and were frantically trying to establish what was in the tanks as a lot of records seemed to be missing.
Adrien talked us through the terroir – the estate has a great view of the Dentelles de Montmirail – a limestone formation that looks like teeth. We then headed into the winery and the tasting room. A terrific tasting ensued as we ploughed through a variety of appellations which culminated in a sequence of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise – the famous sweet wine of the region. Great tasting and a great start.
The weather was looking ominous as we took the short drive to the pretty village of Séguret and lunch at Le Bastide Bleue. Minutes after sitting down the heavens opened with an absolutely torrential downpour. Luckily for us though it had stopped and the sun shone as we finished our coffee. A super lunch of more white asparagus (’tis the season) delicious braised lamb and a fruit tart. Washed down with copious quantities of Mourchon wines – which as it happened we were heading next.
We visited Domaine Mourchon five times in 2013 and again in 2023 so I feel like I know the McKinlay family well and they have a wonderful story to tell. The land was bought in 1998 with the intention of selling the grapes only and creating a retirement home for Walter and Ronnie McKinlay. It became quickly clear that they would have to build a winery and start selling – which they duly did.
Perched high up a hill with stunning views over the surrounding countryside, Kate McKinlay, who now runs the estate, took us for a lovely walk into the vineyards and gave a wonderful insight into the trials and tribulations of growing vines in this part of the Southern Rhône. They are organically certified and have recently moved to adopting biodynamic practices as well. It was a fascinating discovery of their very particular terroir. We managed to get back into the winery before another torrential downpour. Inside we tasted through the entire range which showed top class winemaking and delicious diversity of style – starting with an oaked white and finishing with a 1993 Armagnac!
A great first day and a quiet bus on the way home.
