Join us on March 19th as Alex Rougeot, director of Clos Cachet takes us on a ‘Tour du Rhone’. The evening will begin with a glass of champagne on arrival, followed by 5 flights of wines from two of the most prestigious winemakers in the Rhone Valley, Jean Luc Jamet and Bernard Gripa. Food will be served to accompany these outstanding wines.

The Rhône Valley has been a hub of wine culture since ancient times and is just as popular today. Producing incredible Syrah or Shiraz as well as Marsanne and Roussanne white wines, the vineyards in the Rhône Valley follow the Rhône River, travelling 250km through six different French departments and 250 towns. It is the second biggest appellation-controlled vineyard in France. The region has 27 different appellations and 27 grape varietals.

Three hundred million years ago the Rhône Valley was born from an incredible geological clash of the Massif Central and the French Alps. The valley was then flooded by the Mediterranean. Due to the volcanic activity in the Massif Central, granite was distributed throughout northern Rhône. Contrastingly, the south was filled with calcareous marine sediment and layers of fluvial limestone.

Aficionados of the Tour de France will recognise the Rhône for some brutal stages, including the infamous climb to the summit of the lunar-like Mont Ventoux. The same geology that makes Ventoux so striking, also permeates the region below the surface- granite, limestone, clay and sandy silica all dominate.

Jean-Luc Jamet is one of the most iconic producers of Côte-Rôtie and Côte du Rhône. His journey began in 1991, working alongside his brother Jean-Paul at the famed family estate “Domaine Jamet”. The magnificent Domaine occupied some of the the best parts of Côte-Rôtie and Côte du Rhône – but in 2013, the brothers parted ways and split the 16 hectare estate into equal halves.

With a brand-new winery (literally separated by one wall to his brother’s) and the same marvellous vineyards at hand, Jean-Luc – the ‘phoenix’ of Côte Rôtie – started a new adventure. He now applies his craft in making wines of extreme delicacy to his own exacting taste and standards.

Jean-Luc has always sought to plant and grow vineyards in the best parts of Côte-Rôtie, both on Côte Blonde and – more commonly – on Côte Brune. His preferred and famous areas such as â€œLancement”, “Chavaroche”, “La Landonne”, “Les Moutonnes”, “Les Rochins”  are recognized as complex, Syrah suitable land composed of schist and granite.

Domaine Bernard Gripa lies in the small village of Mauves on the West bank of the majestic Rhône. To the North is Vienne and Valence is to the South. The village of Mauves faces steep mountain slopes terraced into vineyards.

The Gripa family has a multi-generational history in the village and their family winemaking traditions still remain key to the operations of the Domaine today. Fabrice Gripa, current custodian, looks after the Domaine with the help of his father Bernard Gripa.

All year long, Fabrice and his determined team, undertake every task in the vineyard by hand, as no machine is capable of accessing the steep and challenging terrain of the vineyards. Adding to the workload is Fabrice’s exclusive use of organic agricultural methods