Staying in first class hotels, both members of ‘Relais et Châteaux’ and visiting the great names of the Rhône, the tour will offer an excellent insight into the region and some fantastic gastronomic meals.
On the first day we will meet you in Lyons at our hotel, Villa Florentine and dine at their Michelin* restaurant with selected wines from the Northern Rhône. The next day will be a master-class in Côte Rôtie and Condrieu. Our proposed visits are to Domaine Yves Cuilleron and Georges Vernay in the morning with lunch in Condrieu, where we will be joined by Georges Vernay or another of the top growers. In the afternoon we visit Guigal’s Château d’Ampuis, where Marcel Guigal himself hopes to be with us. We will also visit the Côte Rôtie vineyards.
Our base for the rest of the tour is the pretty town of Valence, just south of Tain l’Hermitage, opposite the slopes of Cornas. (It is also within striking distance of the Southern Rhône). We stay at the renowned small luxury hotel, ‘Pic’. Tonight we dine in the ‘Le Petit Pic’, (the bistrot side of ‘Pic’) on regional fare.
Our Hermitage day is a sort of pilgrimage to the original kingdom of the Syrah / Shiraz grape. The visit this morning is to the greatest of the Hermitage estates, and for many the greatest of all Hermitage firms, Domaine Chave. Before lunch at their restaurant in Tain, we have a fascinating tasting at Maison Chapoutier. In their quest to interpret the ‘lieu dits’ on the Hermitage hill, Chapoutier have adopted ‘Bio-dynamism’. The results are wines with more precision and more attractive mouth feel, they are undoubtedly technically better but more importantly, have more soul. In the afternoon we visit Domaine Clape, leading producer of the powerful Cornas and the Saint Peray white. The evening is free in Valence.
We have a day visiting the Southern Rhône. First at Château St Côsme we taste some of the best wines of the Gigondas Appellation. At Château de Beaucastel, one of the leading domaines in Châteauneuf du Pape, our top-level visit includes lunch as their guests. We return to Valence where this evening we dine on the delicate feminine cuisine of Anne-Sophie Pic at the hotel’s Relais Gourmand, Michelin** restaurant.
The morning visit is to Gripa, the outstanding producer of St Joseph and owner of much of the classic St Joseph vineyard opposite the Hermitage hill. The winemaking is non-interventionist and deliberately old fashioned. The results are sometimes stunning, always interesting. Again, there are flexible travel arrangements to suit you; fly, take the TGV or drive!
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Meet at the 4 star hotel in Lyons by 19:00. Michelin - Dinner.
Day 2: Visits & Michelin - Lunch in Côte Rôtie & Condrieu. Dinner. 4 Star hotel, Valence.
Day 3: Visits & Lunch in Hermitage. Afternoon in Cornas.
Day 4: Visit in Gigondas. Visit (& possibly lunch) in Châteauneuf. Michelin - Dinner.
Day 5: Visit in St Joseph. Michelin* lunch in Lyons. Drop off at Lyons airport.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Travel: Meet in Lyons
Sole Occupancy: £400.00
Deposit: £300.00
Room Upgrade: £160
Notes:
- The Tour description is provisional, though the date is confirmed.
- To be priority booked onto the tour and to receive further details which will be available by March 2008, please contact the Supplier.
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