There's no place like Rhone..

25th February 2015

Anyone who loves wine knows that France produces many great wines, however it's often the wine regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne that feature most frequently in the limelight. Undeniably these regions produce some fantastic wines but we'd like to draw your attention to another classic wine area that deserves equal recognition for its' wonderful wines; France's outstanding Rhone region.

Located in South Eastern France and centred around the famed gastronomic city of Lyon the department of Rhone Alpes borders Burgundy to the North, stretches into Provence encompassing the city of Montelimar to the south, St. Etienne to the west and Grenoble to the east.

The wine regions of the Rhone Valley have traditionally been further split into two sub regions; the Northern Rhone and the Southern Rhone; the town of Valence represents a useful geographical marker for the divide between the two.

The sub-region of the Northern Rhone is only around 40 miles long, producing approximately 5% of Rhone wines, yet despite it's comparatively meagre size and the small volume of wine produced, the Northern Rhone contains some of the most prestigious Rhone wine appellations. World famous wine appellations, including the renowned Cru level wines of the Hermitage and Cote Rotie vineyards and the Condrieu appellation for exceptional white wines, are found in the Northern Rhone. Many of the vineyards here are found on steep slopes making them challenging to work with, resulting in terracing to improve accessibility for the dedicated wine producers of the region, and also to help prevent soil erosion.

The majestic Northern Rhone red wines are based around the rich, flavourful and brooding Syrah or Shiraz grape and the regions sumptuous white wines around the aromatic Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne grapes. These are wines that can age and mature for many years in cellar conditions, developing layers of flavour and complexity.

The Southern Rhone appellations are therefore responsible for the production of the remaining 95% of Rhone wines, including large quantities of the widely known and enjoyed Cote du Rhone appellation and Cote du Rhone Villages appellation wines. The Southern winegrowers not only have a larger geographic area and flatter vineyards, they also have a greater range of grapes to work with, the most popular grapes however are Grenache, Syrah or Shiraz, Mourvedre and Cinsault for red wines and Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Clairette and Grenache Blanc for white wines.

Not all of the Southern Rhone appellations are however merely volume producers, perhaps the most globally recognised Rhone wine of all is produced in the South; Chateauneuf-du-Pape, both stunning red and white wines. Are produced here. Other famed Rhone Crus include Beaumes de Venise, known for it's sublime Muscat based, fortified dessert wines and Gigondas, Vacqueryas and Lirac, Crus level appellations producing fine, robust, spicy reds.

A renewed focus on evolving customer tastes, high quality fruit and depth of flavour has driven the wines of the Rhone to even greater heights over recent years so if you haven't tried the fantastic wines of the Rhone Valley before, now's the time! Anyone who has an affinity for deep, plummy, New World Shiraz or brooding, joyfully jammy, succulent, Grenache should definitely try some of the fine red wines the Rhone has to offer! Equally white wine fans who would like to try something richer and more complex than a pallet cleansing Sauvignon Blanc for a change should investigate the amazingly aromatic and food friendly Rhone whites of the region.

After all, when in Rhone..