Walls: top picks from Yapp’s Big Rhône Tasting

After a long lunch while on holiday in France in 1969, Robin Yapp indulged in some highly enthusiastic wine buying. We’ve all done it, I suppose. But when a whole pallet of wines turned up at the door of his home in Mere, Wiltshire, he decided the most sensible course of action was to place a notice in the Sunday Times newspaper offering some for sale. And thus, the wine merchant Yapp Brothers was born.

A lover of the Rhône, two of the first estates on Yapp’s books were Domaine Clape in Cornas and Domaine Champet in Côte-Rôtie.

A few years later he added another Côte-Rôtie estate, Domaine Jasmin, as well as Domaine Chave in Hermitage. Since then, Yapp has gradually put together a list of some of the best names in the region.

Scroll down to see Matt Walls’ top-scoring picks from Yapp’s Big Rhône Tasting

Today the business is run by Robin’s son Jason Yapp and stepson Tom Ashworth. Although they sell wines from all over the world, they still sell more than twice as many wines from the Rhône than any other region, and nearly a quarter of their business is Rhône.

Like most UK merchants, they hold occasional trade and press events, but their recent tasting at 67 Pall Mall in London was the first comprehensive Rhône tasting they’ve held in a decade.

’The Big Rhône Tasting was an idea we’ve been mulling over for a while,’ says Ashworth. He decided September was the right time to go ahead as ‘autumn is an ideal time to taste and drink Rhône wines’.

He says he’s seeing ‘increasing interest in Rhône Valley wines from both private customers and the trade’, noting that prices at the top end are rising steadily.

Yapp’s 2002 wine list offered four vintage of Domaine Clape, 1997 to 2000, all between £28 and £34 a bottle. They are currently selling the 2013 for £80.

‘It’s still a region where you can drink the best wines from the great producers for about £200 a bottle,’ says Ashworth. ‘Clearly that’s not cheap, but it’s a tenth of the price of the equivalent from Burgundy, Bordeaux or Napa. You also get terrific bang for your buck in the Southern Rhône, with so many well-made wines between £8 and £15, in all colours.’

At the tasting, Jason and Tom opened nearly 50 wines from the Rhône, from 15 appellations and four IGPs, covering a range of prices from less than £10 a bottle to more than £200. Quality was solid, and there were several excellent wines under £30.

An illuminating aspect of the tasting was the occasional fully mature older wine alongside the younger, current vintage. It gave an insight into how these younger wines might age, and how long they could develop in bottle.

A particular highlight was the deep, brooding 2017 Côte-Rôtie from Patrick Jasmin, compared to his 1983 from magnum. A sure contender for one of my wines of the year for its thrilling complexity, it was still bursting with energy.

Another interesting duo was the 2016 and 1999 Origine from Domaine St-Gayan, proving the extraordinary ageing potential of Gigondas. If you’re looking to build a cellar on a budget, the excellent 2016 is just £19.50 a bottle. Kept well, it should last even longer than the 1999.

After 50 years, Yapp still has one of the best Rhône selections in the UK.

The wines tasted have been split into three price bands: under £20, under £40 and over £40. Full tasting notes are below, listed in score order.

Under £20

White

Domaine St-Gayan, Côtes du Rhône Villages- Sablet 2016 Score 90 Price £14.50

Vignerons Ardéchois, Grès du Trias Viognier, IGP Coteaux de l’Ardèche 2020 Score 87 Price £12.25

Domaine St-Gayan, Argiles, Méditerranée IGP 2020 Score 87 Price £9.95

Rosé

Domaine Maby, La Forcadière, Tavel 2020 Score 90 Price £14.90

Domaine St-Gayan, Argiles, Méditerranée IGP 2020 Score 89 Price £9.95

Red

Domaine St-Gayan, Origine, Gigondas 2016 Score 94 Price £19.50

Domaine Maby, La Fermade, Lirac 2019 Score 90 Price £15.25

Jean-Louis Chave Sélection, Mon Coeur, Côtes du Rhône 2019 Score 89 Price £14.95

Domaine du Père Caboche, Le Petit Caboche, Vin de Pays Vaucluse 2020 Score 88 Price £11.50

Under £40

White

Domaine Clape, St-Péray 2019 Score 95 Price £37.50

Domaine Lombard, Côtes du Rhône-Brézème 2019 Score 94 Price £24

Domaine Alain Graillot, Crozes-Hermitage 2019 Score 93 Price £25

Jean-Louis Chave Sélection, Circa, St-Joseph 2019 Score 93 Price £25.95

Domaine du Père Caboche, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2020 Score 92 Price £25.50

Domaine Georges Vernay, Le Pied de Samson, Collines Rhodaniennes 2019 Score 91 Price £29.75

Domaine Biguet, Mousseux Brut, St-Péray NV Score 89 Price £23

Red

Jean-Louis Chave Sélection, Farconnet, Hermitage 2017 Score 94 Price £39.95

Le Vieux Donjon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017 Score 94 Price £37.50

Domaine Georges Vernay, Terres d’Encre, St-Joseph 2018 Score 93 Price £39.50

Domaine Alain Graillot, Crozes-Hermitage 2018 Score 92 Price £27.50

Domaine Georges Vernay, Ste-Agathe, Collines Rhodaniennes 2019 Score 92 Price £24.75

Domaine du Père Caboche, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019 Score 91 Price £26.50

Over £40

White

Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage 2014 Score 99 Price £195

Red

Domaine JL Chave, Hermitage 2012 Score 98 Price £210

Domaine Clape, Cornas 2013 Score 96 Price £80

Domaine Jasmin, La Giroflarie, Côte-Rôtie 2017 Score 95 Price £49

Domaine Alain Graillot, La Guiraude, Crozes-Hermitage 2017 Score 93 Price £42

Domaine Champet, La Viallière, Côte-Rôtie 2017 Score 93 Price £42

Domaine Jasmin, Oléa, Côte-Rôtie 2016 Score 93 Price £55

See notes and scores for all 36 wines tasted

Matt Walls’ top scoring picks from the tasting (93+ scoring wines)

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