August, 2024
After the solo visit to Burgundy I drove straight south to meet my friends for our annual extended wine weekend.
I made a first stop in Ampuis at the beautiful showroom of mighty E.Guigal, truly impressive. Then on all the way along the Rhône further south to the town of Tain l’Hermitage, the center of the Northern Rhône wine region.
Once on site, one can not miss the impressive backdrop of the town with the famous terraces planted with vines, the heart of the famous Hermitage appellation. One thing which is really impressive that both premium white and red grapes are being grown here. As for whites it’s motstly Marsanne and Roussanne, for red Syrah is the only permitted grape variety for the appellation .
The weekend really stated to be launched once my friends arrived and we got a first taste of the local food and of course wines.
Over the weekend we toured the different appellations with our convertibles which makes is so much more enjoyable and fun. We also found a great restaurant towering over the river offering splendid views and Michelin level cuisine at very affordable prices.
Nightlife was also much better than expected and we actually met some (young) people working in the wine industry which were eager to show us and let us taste wines where they worked, including some incredible high quality bottles.
All in all, Tain l’Hermitage clicked all the boxes for an enjoyable and relaxing (wine) weekend, needless to day that most of my friends have never been here let alone know anything about the wide variety of wines the region has to of offer. If you are looking for a high quality, off-the-beaten-track wines region, then go visit this one.
Puligny-Montrachet 🇫🇷