Tag Archives: Ogier

Ogier Caves des Papes Les Caprices d’Antoine Côtes du Rhône 2010

And here is already the last one of our trio of Ogiers. This time a more modern blended Côtes-du-Rhône made as a tribute to Antoine Ogier, the founder of the Ogier Caves des Papes Winery, located in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Les Caprices d’Antoine is made of classic Southern Rhone varieties like Grenache and Syrah, supplemented with smaller amounts of Carignan and Mourvèdre, making this a Southern Rhône blend (GSCM). Funny enough these are all to be found in a Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine except for Carignan, which isn’t allowed! Carignan is mostly found in Rioja-wines (in Spain it is called: Mazuelo). Carignan is mostly used to give extra body and a deep color to wines. The wine was aged somewhere between 6 to 8 months in French and American oak barrels. The wine has 14,5% ABV.

Color: Dark ruby-red with a purple and / or violet edge.

Nose: Recognizable nose of a Rhône-wine. Immediate balance and young. Again at first not very heavy. Typical of Ogier. It has vanilla from the American oak, and even a slight sourness like yoghurt. Warm earth, licorice (also from Carignan), spicy wood and lots of red fruits. Red apple skin, with raspberry and hints of strawberry. (I said it was modern didn’t I?)

Taste: Fruity and acidic. Soft tannins that hardly dry the palate. Again a light style Ogier. Licorice stays a wee bit longer on the palate. Medium finish that is quite simple. Definitely a simpler wine than the two I reviewed earlier. Very typical for this wine is the thick licorice note it has, and a slight hint of bitterness that gives the finish some character, but I would have preferred some more fruitiness.

Recommended with meat and cheese, well which red wine isn’t these days. For me it is more a sort of daily drinker type of wine that doesn’t need your attention all the time. It’s good, but nothing extraordinary. I hope Antoine wasn’t like this, although the wine is not bad.

Points: 80

Ogier Caves des Papes Crozes-Hermitage Comte de Raybois 2009

Another red wine, another Ogier. Crozes-Hermitage lies in the northern part of the Rhône wine region and has a continental climate. Nearest town being Tournon-sûr-Rhône, where Châteauneuf-du-Pape is located more to the south near the town of Avignon, which has a mediterranean climate.

Where the previous Ogier was a Châteauneuf-du-Pape made with four grape varieties, this Crozes-Hermitage is a 100% pure Syrah. That in itself is a no-brainer since Syrah is the only red grape allowed for this appellation, or isn’t it? Strange enough two white grape varieties are allowed for use in the red wines (up to 15%). These are: Marsanne and Rousanne. Since this wine is all Syrah and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a blended wine of four grape varieties, I expect this wine to be rather different, albeit a Rhône wine. Syrah is a ballsy grape variety, which usually adds black and blue fruit flavors, chocolate and pepper, but knowing Ogier, this example might be lighter in style than its colleagues…

Color: Deep dark, very dark, red.

Nose: Vanilla and clotted cream. Somewhat closed, smells like a cold wine. Smallest hint of fish. (Should I be writing this? Don’t worry it’s inoffensive). After holding it in my hand, swirling it a bit, an explosion of aroma’s. Nice rich typical Syrah, warming. Hot stones. Spicy yet supple (yes still writing about the smell of it, and it smells, well…, supple). A little bit of dry but fresh uncut grass, and field flowers with strawberry jam. Nice dark fruits emerge from the jam. Nice stuff this, quite complex and interesting.

Taste: This has some more tannins than the Châteauneuf-du-Pape I reviewed last. It dries the tongue and it is a bit austere. It has the, by now typical,  Ogier lightness to it. Syrah can be very heavy, but this Syrah just isn’t. I just poured it, it is light with a light finish and a nice acidity counteracted with some butter. With some breathing it should get better. It’s a bit like Metallica played by a Finnish string quartet. After some breathing and even taking big gulps, the wine actually doesn’t get any “heavier” It just is a lighter style of Syrah, which compared to the nose, is quite simple and easy.

No pepper nor chocolate for me, so this one should be aged further in the bottle, to get the pepper out. Syrah without this most probably is young and needs more time. Leave it alone for at least five years again, but in my opinion it should age even longer than that.

Points: 84

Ogier Caves des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Reine Jeanne 2010

Let’s continue with another red wine. This is a Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Ogier Caves des Papes. Not to be confused with the Ogiers from Côtes Roti.

Christophe Ogier had a wine shop established in 1859 called Ogier et Fils. In 1872, his son Etienne took over the company and he passed it over to his grandson Antoine in 1914. In the 1950’s the company joins with Bessac Caves des Papes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Their combined estates are all located around Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

This example of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is built around the four well-known grape varieties for the appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Grenache (versatile, easy to use and adds rich fruit flavors), Syrah (ballsy, adds black and blue fruit flavors, chocolate and pepper), Mourvèdre (spicy, leathery, gives the wine a dark red color) and Cinsault (perfumy and floral). Grenache and Syrah (and Mourvèdre) being the most popular for the region and this type of blended wine. The wine has had some ageing in oak barrels and boasts a hefty 15% ABV.

Color: Dark ruby-red.

Nose: Creamy and very fruity. Red fruits and prunes. Hot butter and warm earth. Vanilla and utterly balanced, otherwise light. It has some sweet-smelling oriental spices, most definitely some ginger and hints of licorice. Small hint of meat(loaf). Great overall perfume.

Taste: Again light, not very tannic, but still a mouth full, and a little bit drying. Licorice. Deep terroir and only slightly acidic. Medium finish with the licorice sustaining. A bit mysterious. Already needs decanting for its full aroma to show, but after some breathing (also in the glass) a very good and aromatic wine.

Very nice and somewhat light Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Today a very inoffensive wine but with a lot of quality to it. Extremely drinkable but not to be taken with heavy foods. Sometimes almost an aperitif wine! I think the wine should be aged further for at least five years. It will improve, but in which way it will develop is hard to predict. Lovely wine, but could have been better with some more body, a little bit more meat on the bone, but the meat this is there is pretty good mind you! Let’s hope it will get more body from the additional ageing. Very nice wine nevertheless.

Points: 87

Thanks Richard for the wine!