Le Cordon Bleu - French Wines #4

Our wine tour took us to the Rhône Valley last night.

Starting with Côte-Rôtie in the north. Rhône stretches south just past Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Splitting the zone in two sections, Upper and Lower. Both regions produce some world-top wines. But the crème de la crème hails from the north. Specifically, Saint Joseph and Hermitage. If you’ve had the luxury of tasting one of these 400 to 500 Euro bottles, then considered yourself lucky.

Soil and weather produces dramatically different wines from the Upper and Lower areas. Upper Rhône is bedded with granite soil on dramatic cliffs. Often producing dark red and black berry, chocolate, rich, tannic wines. Most Upper wines should be aged 5-12 years. And never consumed less than 3 years of age. Small, rounded pebbles make up the terroir of Lower Rhône. This rock system has significant affects on the vines. Absorbed heat from the day’s sun is released at night, gently warming the grapes. Rain water also saturates the stones. Slowly leaking back out, creating an automatic drip system. This is most notable around Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

In terms of cépages, varietals, most grapes are allowed in this region. Reds are often syrah, grenache, cinsault, mourvèdre, carignan, counoise, terret noir, vaccarèse, vermentino, and muscardin. Whereas the whites are commonly viognier, marsanne, roussanne, grenache blanc, clairette, bourboulenc, picpoul, and ugni blanc.

Rhône Valley grapes are transformed into all wine varieties. White. Red. Rosé. Sparkling. And fortified.

Speaking of labeling. This is a robust and complicated region. There are, however two general labels to watch out for. Côtes du Rhône is a generic term for blended wines from various vineyards. Usually made up of grenache. Not the best wines from Rhône.

The next step up is, Côtes du Rhône Villages. These tend to be a bit better in quality and overall value. Without a specific village name, it is assumed that these can too come from anywhere within the region.

From here – much like Burgundy – bottles are labeled with specific village names. Lirac. Beaumes de Venise. Cornas. Crozes Hermitage. And so on. Grape varietal and style can widely range. These are the bottles that you should be buying.

The best advice for Rhône wines is to drink them all. And write down which ones you prefer. There are over 40 villages in total. Too many to characterize.

Lesson #4 Tastes

• Côtes du Rhône (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre) by Jerome Quiot, 2008.
• Gigondas (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre) by Domaine de Longue Toque, 2006
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre, cinsault, muscardin) by Château des Fines Roches, 2006
• Côte-Rôtie (syrah, viognier) by E. Guigal, 2004
• Condrieu (viognier) by E. Guigal, 2007