20 GREAT RHONE BUYS
A good Rhône is the ideal multi-purpose option to go with so many of the Christmas and festive season main meals – or with some cheese, or on its own… And here are 20 great-value selections for just that purpose, from our regional expert
Wouldn’t it be great if you could get the inside track on future appellations before they were minted? That way you could get in early before prices increased along with their fame. Well in the Rhône, you can.
There are four levels in the appellation hierarchy in this southern region. At the top there are the crus, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas. The layer beneath is the one to examine: it’s technically called ‘AP Côtes-du-Rhône Villages with geographic name’ – or ‘named villages’ for short. It’s an assembly of the 22 top-performing villages, all of which are allowed to append their name against the appellation, such as AP Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet.
These villages are a source of some of the best-value wines in the Rhône valley. Individually they’re not particularly well-known, so they can’t trade on their reputation alone. And this is the pool from which future crus will be selected, so producers are striving to improve quality in the hope of promotion. The last to be upgraded was Cairanne in 2015; the next will be Laudun in 2024.
Around half are permitted to make red, white and rosé; the other half just red. Apart from that, they all follow the identical rules of production, using the same smorgasbord of grapes to choose from. Wines of every colour must be a blend of at least two varieties: whites can be based on any combination of the principal varieties Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and/or Viognier; while reds must contain a minimum 66% of at least two of the three main varieties Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, of which one must be Grenache.
CHARACTER & VALUE
Some of these named villages contain dozens of dynamic domaines; others might only have two or three sleepy estates in production. All Rhône villages have their own personality, although some have a stronger character than others. The sandy soils of Sablet produce wines with finesse, for example, whereas the sweltering Plan de Dieu makes powerful, muscular reds.
All 22 produce some wines of interest, but certain names are particularly worth looking out for. Consistently strong performers are Sablet, Séguret, St-Andéol, Visan, Roaix and Massif d’Uchaux. This last one is a particular favourite of mine, a vast wooded hill directly north of Châteauneuf and west of Cairanne that creates spicy, red-fruited wines of impressive energy and verve.
Use of new oak barrels is rare among the named village
