A nice article from Mrs Fumiko Aoki

Rasteau in the southern Rhône has been elevated to AOC status, appellations body the INAO announced this month 

The commune has been promoted from Côtes du Rhône Villages, with the designation backdated to cover the 2009 vintage. 

With 75% of vineyards on hillsides rising between 500 and 1000 feet, Rasteau, with its smooth, stone covered clay-limestone terraces, has been long considered a top red Côtes du Rhône Villages wine, an AOC that was granted in 1966. 

Rasteau's application to be elevated to a specific AOC as a dry red wine has taken almost a decade to be approved. 

The winegrowers' syndicate requested it 2002, but experts from a board of inquiry studied the vineyards and excluding some 100 hectares from the current 1300 before granting the status, according to a press release. 

'This decision is a natural acknowledgment of the quality of the Rasteau terroir, a point that had to be made clear to consumers, and a definite message to the market,' said Jean-Jacques Dost, general manager of Ortas Cave de Rasteau, leading producer and marketer of the new AOC Rasteau. 

Rasteau now counts as a member of an inner circle of Southern Rhône AOCs, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Tavel, Lirac, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Beaumes de Venise. 

Here

This has a nice dark cherry color, with tasty cherry, ripe strawberry and mineral notes that all weave through the fresh finish. Lively and tasty. Drink now. BEST VALUE.

Rupert Symington, The Symington Group (Portugal). I recently bought 24 bottles of Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2007 from the new Portuguese importer for Perrin, and I have to say on opening the first bottle I was mightily impressed. As a huge northern and southern Rhône fan anyway, this bottle delivered everything I could ask for from a medium-priced Châteauneuf. I have had Coudoulet many times before at tastings in the U.S. and in Canada, and while it is nearly always overshadowed when tasted alongside the main Château de Beaucastel bottling, it is still remarkably complex and unquestionably better than quite a number of wines from the region that sell at higher prices. The figgy, spicy 2007 went down beautifully with a simple roast chicken cooked with fresh herbs from the garden accompanied by cauliflower with cheese. This was my homecoming dinner after two weeks travelling in the U.S., and I certainly wasn't in a state to be thinking too hard, so Coudoulet could possibly be my perfect "jetlag wine.

We will be in Châteauneuf du Pape on April 10th and 11th from 10am to 7pm for the first edition of the « Printemps de Châteauneuf du Pape ». It is an opportunity for all wine amateurs to come and meet us and taste our wines.

For more information go to : www.lesprintempsdechateauneufdupape.fr

•    10cl Milk
•    10gr Butter
•    30gr Sugar
•    1 spoon of Four
•    2 Egg yolks
•    3 Egg whites
•    1 Lemon (zest)
•    1 teaspoon of powdered bay leaf



1 - Melt the Butter in a pan with the Milk and the Sugar. Add the Flour to the warm mixture and beat energetically on the heat until it thickens. Turn off the heat and add the 2 Egg yolks and the zest of 1 grated lemon. Whisk till the mixture is homogeneous and poor into another dish, cover with cling film and leave to cool.
2 - Butter the individual moulds and coat with sugar (it will stick to the butter).
3 - At the last minute, whisk the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the mixture that should be at room temperature. Poor into the individual moulds leaving half a centimetre gap at the top.
4 - Place in a 165°C oven for about 12 -13 minutes.


PERRIN Muscat de Beaumes de Venise should be drunk very cold, nearly iced. Put in the fridge the day before and serve it at the last minute.

Come and visit us on our stand from 22 to 24 February 2010, to discover and taste our range of wines.