Côtes du Rhône -Tain L’Hermitage/Tournon-Sur Rhône and THAT wine.
As I prepare to sit and write this article, beside me is an ice-cold glass of white wine – purely for inspiration (as well as sipping.)
This is not any glass of wine, but quite possibly one of the finest white wines (if not the finest) I’ve ever tasted, and the grape variety is Marsanne and it’s from the Côtes de Rhône in the Ardèche region. Who’d have thought? The wine’s name is Hermitage, Chante Alouette and it’s from the vineyards of Chapoutier – a name to conjure with in these parts.
My experience with this grape variety is not vast, in fact, I have steered clear of it since I tasted the Marsanne made famous by Mitchelton Wines in Victoria – very soon after they first opened their doors. I didn’t like it; but having said this, it is also true that this was some decades ago and since, the Mitchelton Marsanne has become quite iconic and revered and my tastes have matured since then.
I tasted this Marsanne in June (2022) during a French ‘canicule’ (heatwave) when I had decided to leave my second home in Arles (Provence) for a couple of days sojourn further north, hoping to escape the heat. I didn’t, it followed me. However, a lovely couple of days was spent in the twin, Ardèche towns of Tain L’Hermitage/Tournon-sur-Rhône, nevertheless.
The towns are the centre of the wine industry (and vineyards) of the Côtes du Rhône (and a two-hour plus train journey north-east from Arles). It’s a wine-growing area that I had long associated with red wine and the Shiraz (or Syrah) grape – which, I’m not at all partial to. I had never checked out the whites.
However, I had passed the vineyards of the Côtes du Rhône on trains while travelling to Lyon from Arles and was intrigued by the steep vine-covered hillsides rising up from the Rhone River that carved a valley between them; the town of Tain L’Hermitage on one side of the river and Tournon-Sur-Rhône the other. Large signs adorned these hilly vineyards with the name of the vigneron emblazoned across them – a bit like the famous ‘Hollywood’ sign. It’s a spectacular sight.
A few of these signs carry prominently the name M. Chapoutier and L’Hermitage is one of his vineyards where I am assuming my stellar white wine was grown. (I have since learned that the Chapoutier family also have a foot in Australia with vineyards in the Heathcote area of Victoria – worth checking out!). You can also buy their french wines from this Australian site.
It was pure serendipity that I tasted L’Hermitage – Chante Alouette…well… serendipity and an hour or so I had to kill before catching my train back to Arles. I spent this time having lunch at Marius Bistro on the Tain side of the river (and two minutes from the railway station)where the extremely helpful staff ensured I had finished my meal in plenty of time to catch the train.
They also didn’t steer me wrong in my wine selection. L’Hermitage – Chante Alouette was the most expensive white wine on their list at Euros 14 per glass – and although that price is not unusual in Sydney, in France it’s a big price to pay for a glass of wine. My waitress assured me that it was worth it. No, it wasn’t a viognier it was a Marsanne. She was one of the few people whom I asked who knew the answer to the question of grape varieties. Most would just answer, with a shrug of their Gallic shoulders – “it’s a Côtes du Rhône” as if that should say it all.
In fact, the Côtes du Rhône white wines use three grape varieties – Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier, often singularly but sometimes in combination. There are also sub regions and categories of the Côtes du Rhône wines, like the Condrieu appellation that famously uses predominantly Viognier. These three grape varieties are what Chardonnay and Aligoté are to Burgundy. To the French, if you know the region, then you know the wine – no need to know the grape variety – and for the most part, they don’t.
Tournon sur Rhône
I lodged on the Tournon side of the river – which is known as “the quiet side.” Tain is not only a major exporter of wine, it is also home to Valrhona Chocolate, a busy tourist attraction as well as its major industrial premises, hence, there are a lot of trucks that travel through the town and onto the nearby freeway north to Lyon, Paris and more distant places with their cargoes. In such a small town, with barely half a kilometre from the river to the foothills, it can get noisy and congested.
There is a pedestrian bridge over the Rhone that connects the two towns and walking across the bridge at twilight, when the lights are just starting to go on, is magical, especially on a balmy summer’s night. It’s a suspension bridge, something of which I’d not taken note. When I made the crossing after a riverside dinner, I was alarmed to find I was swaying. I had resolved not to indulge in a post-dinner Muscat de Baumes de Venise ever again when I worked out it was the bridge, not me. Phew! How would one live without the sweetness of this delicious white sticky wine as a fitting end to a wonderful meal?
I stayed at the Four-star Hotel de la Villeon, a boutique hotel from the 18th Century that is full of character but with modern amenities. My room had a fireplace with an imposing over-mantle mirror and had windows with what looked like the original wood shutters both inside and out. The windows looked onto the cobbled street below. The bathroom was modern but sympathetically constructed. It was also, luckily, air conditioned, considering the heatwave that was upon us – although I doubt whether the appliance was often used for cooling this early in their summer.
The hotel sported outdoor terraces with tables and chairs where you could take a cooling drink. There was also a garden on the top terrace of the hotel’s land with a view of the vines. Everything in Tain/Tournon very quickly rises from the banks of the river, and the hotel was no exception, with the back of the hotel being considerably elevated. Inside were guest sitting rooms complete with stone fireplaces, chandeliers and a cosy bar – all furnished tastefully…and oh so French.
Hotel de la Villeon
The hotel lies in the shadow of the Chateau de Tournon that dates back to the 10th century with parts rebuilt in the 16th Century.
The castle now holds a museum and is macabrely famous as the place of death (believed murdered with poison) of the French dauphin Prince Francis III, the son of François I of France, when Francis was just 18 years old in the year 1536.
Francis had been betrothed to Mary Tudor, daughter of England’s King Henry VIII and Henry’s first (of many) wives, Catherine of Aragon, when Francis was just four years old. The betrothal didn’t last and there were many betrothals after this one as Francis was seen by his father, the King, to be an attractive bargaining chip when it came to political alliances. But alas…
On my only full day in the twin towns, I got a late(ish) start to the day. I slept in – which was not hard to do in the cool comfort of my hotel room. However, it was the weekend and no one was in any hurry. I walked to the river, just at the end of the street, where the road was lined with café after café, and I chose one to have a morning coffee and orange juice.
What is etched indelibly in my mind is the clean, crisp, coolness of the morning and the sparkling river – a wonderful way to start a day that would ultimately end in a heat haze. But here, mid-morning, it was idyllic.
I had heard that, on the Tain side of the river, if you climbed through the vineyards – forever upwards – there was a church atop that was worth seeing as was the view from up there. I had decided that it was what I would do.
Amongst the vines
However, my tardiness meant that by the time I’d arisen from bed, had my morning coffee and crossed the river, the day was already starting to get hot. It was said to be about an hour’s steep upward walk and the path was just a track, add to that the fact that there was no shade made me change my mind. I am clumsy at the best of times and those conditions could have had dire consequences. However, I did walk along the foothills of the vineyards – and a lovely walk it was.
In a field on the flat, a vineyard worker was tending the vines using a horse and a hand-steered manual plough. I didn’t know anyone still did this – quite a sight to behold. Also, on the slopes tending the vines were the vineyard workers – the ground was so steep one leg shorter than the other would have been a decided advantage.
I stopped in at the Valrhona factory that has a ‘Cité’ that one can visit on my way back to Tournon. I found it very disappointing as the visit is all virtual – with limited samples thrown in. There’s 10 Euros 80 I’ll never get back!
That pizza machine and the very disappointing Valrhona ‘Cité.’
There are a plethora of eateries in the two towns from an automatic pizza vending machine (yes, really) to starred restaurants and everything in between. There are markets every Saturday and many bars where you can taste the wines. There is more than enough to occupy a couple of days and the situation is stunning.
So, was Tain L’Hermitage/Tournon sur Rhône worth the visit? Absolutely!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to savour the last few drops of the L’Hermitage – Chante Alouette, Marsanne – add a coffee and a sweet little something and I’m in Heaven.
Wonderfully written with beautiful pictures