The second (and last) full day of Hospice du Rhône led off with a seminar on Roussillon, moderated by writer Patrick Comiskey. His messianic introduction was followed by some terrific wines that were evidently new to many of the attendees–there was a healthy buzz in the room immediately afterwards, and it spilled all the way over into the beginning of lunch some 90 minutes later.

Interestingly, two of the wineries represented on the panel had roots in the nothern Rhône: Domaine Le Roc des Anges (Marjorie Gallet) and Domaine Madeloc (Pierre Gaillard and his daughter Elise). Also showing wines and describing their unique terroirs were Jean-Roger Clavet of Domaine Thunevin-Calvet and Hervé Bizeul of Domaine Clos des Fées.

Gallet described Roussillon as her “Catalan dream,” while Elise Gaillard referenced the beauty of the region as one of the most compelling in France. All agreed that the minerality imparted by the soils was especially important in Roussillon wines, and that higher altitudes were important to preserving freshness in the wines.

Despite the differing styles, depending on the terroir and varieties, most of the wines were approachable even at a young age, the exception being Bizeul’s offerings. “Great wines are made for aging,” he asserted. “It’s an investment in the future and you will get more pleasure if you wait.” Certainly, the mouthcoating tannins on his wines indicate cellaring is necessary.

Saturday’s second seminar focused on the wines of a single McClaren Vale producer: Drew Noon. The modest Australian Master of Wine presented a slightly clunky virtual view of the 2010-2011 growing season, followed by a tasting of several of his wines. Most interesting was the contrast between fully destemmed and whole-bunch fermented lots of 2010 Shiraz.

Noon allowed that the whole-bunch lot showed “less vibrant fruit,” but suggested it “Doesn’t taste as stemmy as I thought it might.” Experimenting with the wines, I found a small amount of the cabbage-y, tea-scented lot added welcome complexity to the lush blackberry-laden destemmed sample.

Saturday’s lunch included an auction to help support Hospice du Rhône, with many of the lots provided by exhibitors. Chris Cherry as emcee and a lively auctioneer straight out of the stockyards charmed, wheedled and cajoled the crowd into ever-higher bids. Top lot was dinner for 10 at  Denner Vineyards catered by Chef Tom Fundaro of Villa Creek Restaurant, with six local vintners, 19 magnums and two double mags ($8,600).

Saturday afternoon’s Grand Tasting and Farewell BBQ rounded out a great couple of days of Rhône and Rhône-inspired wines, culminating in the announcement of the winner of the Syrah Shoot-Out. The celebrated Coat du Rhône, awarded to the winemaker of the winning wine by his or her peers based on a blind-tasting, went to Russell Bevan of Westerhold Family Vineyards for his 2008 Syrah, repeating last year’s triumph.

Overall, Hospice du Rhône was a hugely enjoyable wine event, with the levels of knowledge and passion among attendees truly remarkable, and the caliber of wines officially served quite high. Raising the bar even further are the numerous wines brought in by participants to share at lunch or dinner. Being offered tastes of Chave’s incredibly rich and long 2003 Hermitage (white), Clape’s stunningly complex 1999 Cornas and Beaucastel’s truffle-y 1990 Châteauneuf-du-Pape may sound like the stuff of legend, but all three really happened. Thanks, Doug, Bob and Eric!

Next time, I’ll have to check some luggage so I can reciprocate.

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