WTN: A fascinating sweet Rivesaltes from 1959 and two prestigious Riojas.

One of the bonuses of the family gathering together for Christmas is the possibility of serving a greater variety of bottles with the same meal. Here is last night’s sample served with some succulent lamb followed by pecan pie.



Rioja San Vicente Tempranillo 1999 from Senorio San Vicente.

N: Complex dark fruit with sweet cherry notes to the fore lined with some unobtrusive vanilla.
P: Smooth, rich, velvety and well shaped with very attractive fruit, polished structure and good length; again the vanilla notes were present but well integrated. A very nice Rioja but perhaps missing a touch of genius; 16/20.



Rioja San Vicente Tempranillo 1994 from Senorio San Vicente

N: Clearly belonging to the same family as the previous but with the fruit a bit darker and the cherry veering to kirsch.
P: Darker fruit than the 1999 and perhaps more complex but also more disjointed and less velvety and integrated with at a slight hollowness in mid-palate which seemed to fill in somewhat towards the end of the bottle. I was expecting more from this “great” year. Perhaps there was subliminal TCA or excessive oxidization from a cork which was within weeks of beginning to weep; 15/20.



Vieux Rivesaltes (Vin doux naturel) 1959 from Domaine Vila (bottled to order from the “cuve” = tank)

I have to rely upon the (high) credibility of the merchant who sold me this for its origin because there was neither label nor branded cork.

C: Transparent red of light to medium intensity but nothing like so pale or brown as a tawny port.
N: Lively complex red and dark fruit with again slight cherry brandy hints.
P: Lively and remarkably fresh fruit with bright liqueur notes, good depth and incredibly long; sweet, of course, but not in the least cloying because of its liveliness. I served this at cellar temperature (12°C = 54°F) which undoubtedly enhanced the impression of freshness but may not have helped complexity and depth. A really lovely wine; 17.5/20.

I have done a Google for more information about this but have only found a little on the site (in French only) of the négotiant, Jérémie Gaïc, who specialises in unearthing old sweeties from the Catalan coast in France.

Tim:

I found this short description of "Rivesaltes" in a book called "Vignes et Vins de France" by Rene Poulain & Louis Jacquelin [published by Flammarion, 1960 Paris] at p. 187:

Translated from French: "Rivesaltes - Muscat gives a wine full of finesse, warm and bouqueted. Syrupy the first year, it becomes, with the second year, limpid and fine with a bouquet of musk. Its very fleeting bouquet attains its maximum with ten years of age. With age, it becomes sweet, perfumed, agreeable, similar to a Malvoisie."

Rivesaltes is from the eponymous town in the Departement of Pyrenees-Orientale, in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon. You noted the wine was red; apparently, the grape used was Grenache (rather than Muscat), in which case the description is as follows:

"Vins de Grenache- this cepage is used to make sweet, red wines, with a great reputation from this region. Very dark the first year, like the Alicantes, these wines lose their color during aging, and become lighter and more agreeable, reminding one of the great sweet wines of Southern Spain. These are dense, velvety, fruity dessert wines, with the flavor of Rancio. Sometimes known as: Roussillon-Doux-Noirs"

Thanks, Marco.

Yes, this wine comes principally from Grenache and I understand (see below) that the Vila estate also has some Syrah and Carignan. The wines from Muscat enjoy the appellation “Muscat de Rivesaltes” and those labelled “Rivesaltes” are from Grenache principally. Both are Vins Doux Naturels (“VDN”), which, contrary to what this description implies, are fortified with brandy like port so as to stop the fermentation and leave a certain proportion of RS. The neighbouring appellations of Maury and Banyuls are rather more famous for red VDN than Rivesaltes.

Here is the link to a merchant’s site which gives a little more information in French - http://infosvin.free.fr/REGIONS/roussillon.html

A loose translation of the extract about the Vila estate is as follows –

“This land, which is harvested manually, is a large Grenache noir vineyard planted on the heights of Saint-Estève near the lake and also Carignan and Syrah on a pebbly soil of mica-shale (??) and quartz; the yield is 30 ha/hl. Céline has taken over from Rose and, with her partner José, brings youth and intelligence to measure up to the old Rivesaltes from 1978, 1974 and 1959 (still in the vat and bottled to order) which were made with love by her grand-father.”
l

Missed the original note, but I also had the 59 Vila bottling - and I have a label (very rustic - imitates a hand-drawing, including the text)!!!!
Although the price was good, I found the wine a bit disappointing. The alcohol wasn't fully integrated (as it would be in, say, a Port).
I found the colour surprisingly light (pink) and got a strawberry candy flavor - more artificial than real.
But a neat 'oddity'.

A few years ago, I also had a bottle, bought in London, which was much less good. This Belgian merchant seems to have an inside track in Languedoc/Roussillon.

FWIW - the UK supermarket chain Waitrose currently stocks a 1982 Les Vignobles du Rivesaltais - Arnaud de Villeneuve Ambre Hors d'Age - at a reasonable price of £10.99 for 50cl