Chocolate, Syrah, and one unforgettable day in the Rhône Valley
Last night Carrie and I started pairing chocolate with our wines for our chocolate event next month. It pulled me right back to one of our best days in Europe. We were sailing down the Rhône River with dozens of Holly’s Hill fans aboard one of the Ama Waterways ships. It was our first of what would become several international trips with our customers. By this point we had already gotten the excitement of maneuvering through river locks out of our system and had warmed up with great wines in Beaujolais. Now we were approaching the whole reason for coming. A kind of pilgrimage to the Rhône Valley.
Since Rhône varieties are our specialty, this stretch of the river felt like home turf. It had been almost twenty years since we had last toured the region and we were excited to share it with our guests. I had been looking forward to this particular day for months because our tour manager kept hinting at a bonus stop. A slight detour for chocolate. I am not a big sweets guy, but our local cheese shop, Dedrick’s, carries France’s premier chocolate, Valrhona. We had become devoted fans of their 70 percent dark flagship chocolate, Guanaja, after discovering how perfectly it pairs with our Rhône blend Patriarche. Rhône wine with Rhône chocolate. Almost too perfect.
That evening our ship pulled into the sleepy town of Tournon sur Rhône. Across the river sat its twin town, Tain l’Hermitage, home to both the legendary Syrah vineyards of Hermitage and the headquarters of Valrhona. We woke the next morning to a view of those famous vineyards sweeping across the south facing hills. Acres of tightly planted Syrah in one of the Northern Rhône’s premier regions, tended by producers like Chapoutier. We would be tasting there later in the day. But first came our sweet pilgrimage.
It was a damp morning and there was no transportation. If you wanted wine that day you were walking. But first there was chocolate and we were determined not to let anyone skip it. Our group crossed the bridge on foot. People stretched out along the narrow sidewalk while cars rushed past on the ancient roads. A few guests debated heading straight to Chapoutier, but we encouraged everyone to keep going. This place was worth it.
Then it happened. The smell. You could smell the chocolate before you could even see the building.
Inside the shop, the crowd was already thick and we only added to the chaos. I went straight for my favorite. One of the joys of this place is that you can taste everything. Unlike wine tasting, there is no holding back. A large board on the wall listed each chocolate with cocoa percentages and descriptors that sounded like they had been lifted from a wine tasting sheet. Floral and oaky. Fruity and intense. Powerful and tannic. I felt right at home.
Guanaja was described as elegant and bittersweet. But the surprise of the morning was the 64 percent Tainori which burst with raspberry notes. Our chocolate guide lit up as we made comparisons to wine. He answered every comment with a cheerful “exactly.” Or was it “exactement”? Hard to say, but I am pretty sure we were speaking English.
We left with several pounds of favorites and a noticeable caffeine and sugar buzz. Then we headed on foot to Chapoutier where we took selfies with the vines because how can you not? We tasted a young white Hermitage followed by a ten year old bottling of the same wine. Then came three red Hermitage wines, finishing with the 2011 L’Ermite which costs more per bottle than an entire case of our wine. Ha. What a day!
Check out our next trip to Bordeaux here!
Co-winemaker,
Josh Bendick
