Andrew Jefford Decanter

from Decanter Magazine december 2011 | 23

What I’ve been drinking this month

“Côtes de Ventoux is not an easy appellation to make a living from: it’s large, amorphous, well down the Rhône Valley peckins order. I’ve tasted attractive wines from there over the years (not least the Penin family’s La Vieille Ferme), but the quality which James King is now getting from his Château Unang vineyards amazes me. A magnum of La Croix 2006 red was superb: finely woven aromas of freshly cut flowers and garrigue herbs, with a palate in which the poise and energy of altitude was jointed to the grip and width that can only come from low yields and finely judged extraction. Few southern Rhône reds combine refreshment and satisfaction like this.”