Northern Rhône icon Yves Cuilleron is a global sensation, producing region-defining, critically acclaimed wines from ancient terroirs. But even if you put all that aside, today’s extraordinary offer is still a shocker. Here’s why: After tasting through Cuilleron's entire lineup of high-scoring, $70-plus Côte-Rôtie and Cornas bottlings recently, my team and I shared a surprising but no less unanimous conclusion when today’s Saint-Joseph made a surprise appearance.
Pound-for-pound, this far-less costly “Cavanos” was the standout, immediately grabbing the top spot for Cuilleron's finest red wine in the spectacular 2016 vintage—a year we’ll be clamoring about for decades to come. Coming from old vines in pure granite soils and master-crafted by a regional legend, we couldn’t have been more thrilled to discover that Cuilleron’s lowest-priced wine was, contrarily, performing at the highest level. That’s the beauty of elite Saint-Joseph. Securing this special wine is like staring Côte-Rôtie and Cornas siblings directly in the eyes: it’s harmoniously silky with an exquisite terroir footprint. I consider it a northern Rhône benchmark. The added bonus here is that “Cavanos” holds undeniable promise to improve for years and years in your cellar, but that’s always self-evident when you see ‘Yves Cuilleron’ on the label. Our infatuation continues to grow!
[*NOTE: This wine is being specially ordered and will be shipping from our warehouse the week of Monday, March 11th.]
I first met Yves Cuilleron in 2007. At the time, I was living in Las Vegas while working as part of a team that had just opened an ambitious restaurant project. My colleagues and I were all starstruck when, one night, Yves came through the door with his close friends and fellow northern Rhône superstars, Yves Gangloff and François Villard. This “dream team” enjoyed their evening together while I pulled corks from a variety of rare gems and, before leaving, they invited me to visit them in the Rhône. Less than one month later, I was on a plane to France. Visiting with Cuilleron was one of the highlights of a three-week trip. Yves opened 14 or 15 bottles dating back to his first vintages in the late 1980s, and for the first time, my eyes opened widely to the impressive cellaring potential of this superstar label.
Next year marks Cuilleron’s 100th year of operation, and in that time they’ve become one of the ‘go-to’ names for exquisite northern Rhône whites and reds. They’re located just outside the town of Chavanay, in the northern reaches of Saint-Joseph, which puts them tantalizingly close to Côte-Rôtie. Obviously, Yves saw great potential in his few parcels of old vines surrounding Chavanay, so he decided to express their granitic terroir by launching a new label—today’s “Cavanos” (the ancient Celtic word for Chavanay). And what brilliance he has bottled! These 40-year-old vines are situated on steep, terraced hillsides impassable to tractors, so all work in the vineyard is done by hand. Fruit is harvested manually as well, and fermentation takes place in both open-top tanks and barriques. In total, the wine spends 16 months in oak, only 20% of which is new. There is a stunning vividness and dimension to its textured earth and fruit. It’s a testament to the superlative quality of Yves’ farming, not to mention the skills he continues to acquire and refine across three decades of working these same hillsides.
In the glass, Cuilleron’s 2016 “Cavanos” reveals a brilliant purple core with ruby reflections. Immediately apparent is the gorgeous array of classic northern Rhône aromatics and the fact that it smells and tastes far more expensive than its humble price tag. Expect all the textbook northern Rhône Syrah markers here: brambly berries, smoke, kirsch, olive tapenade, cracked pepper, plum, licorice, and damp violets entrance your senses, and with air, their levels of perfume are further enhanced. The palate erupts with impressive body, revealing textural fruits and deep savor despite its youthfulness. With tannins already approaching silky smooth and brilliant freshness that keeps the wine humming along your palate, it really is a pitch-perfect Syrah. I would urge you to hold on to a few bottles for further aging (5-7 years or longer is well within its reach), but if consuming now, decant it 30 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Bordeaux or Burgundy stems (we went with the latter due to the wine’s finesse). Pair it with an ultra-tender, spice-rubbed venison loin soaking up a red wine sauce. A better Rhône value you will not find. Enjoy!
