2008 and 2007 Rhone Valley Wines

The American market in particular has maintained a love affair with the rich, fleshy, fruit-driven grenache-based wines of the southern Rhône for the last 20 years, and the string of warm to broiling vintages experienced over that period has ensured a steady supply of ripe, and often superripe, wines to satisfy demand. It is not uncommon nowadays to encounter Châteauneuf du Papes that clock in at over 15% alcohol, and even those at 16%+ barely raise eyebrows anymore, at least in the United States. In France, however, things are different. Recent changes to drunk-driving laws and more aggressive enforcement on the roads have been devastating for domestic restaurant sales of high-octane wines like Châteauneuf, as just a couple of glasses at lunch will push you over the legal limit and into the hoosegow. A bottle of wine that carries 16% alcohol (that’s 32 proof) is the equivalent of over a third of a fifth of whiskey, vodka or gin, and the gendarmerie doesn’t cut any slack for wine-loving gourmands weaving out of Michelin-starred restaurants.

The latest outstanding Rhône Valley vintage—if you don't yet count 2009—was 2007, a vigneron’s dream in the southern Rhône. The vines enjoyed warm, sometimes hot but not baking conditions through the summer and harvest. Lack of rain during the summer resulted in some vine stress, but older plantings with deeper roots generally didn’t suffer from lack of rainfall. The mistral was stronger than usual in 2007, which concentrated fruit sugars without much further loss of acidity.