Wine region
Rhône
From Côte-Rôtie to Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Syrah in the north, Grenache in the south, over 60,000 hectares along the Rhône, which rises in Valais.
- Vineyard area
- over 60,000 hectares, of which only about 4,600 in the northern crus
- Main grapes
- North: Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne; south: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault
- Climate and soils
- north continental on steep granite; south Mediterranean, swept by the mistral, on pebbles and limestone
- Signature wines
- Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Cornas, Condrieu, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel, Côtes du Rhône
- Landmark
- Hermitage: a single granite hill above Tain-l’Hermitage, about 140 hectares
The Rhône rises at the Rhône Glacier in Valais, where the Swiss Rhône valley vineyards lie, flows through Lake Geneva and leaves Switzerland at Geneva. In France it takes in the Saône at Lyon and then runs down a long valley to the Mediterranean. Along this stretch, from Vienne south of Lyon to beyond Avignon, more than 60,000 hectares of vines grow, which makes the Rhône valley one of France’s major appellation regions. Two very different worlds share it: the narrow, steep, continental north and the broad, Mediterranean south, combed by the mistral. The north is small; its crus together cover only about 4,600 hectares.
In the north the reds come almost entirely from Syrah, grown on very steep granite terraces. Côte-Rôtie, the “roasted slope”, is the northernmost appellation; alongside Syrah, up to 20 per cent Viognier is allowed, which adds perfume and finesse. Hermitage is a single granite hill above Tain-l’Hermitage of about 140 hectares, which yields long-lived reds and whites from Marsanne and Roussanne. Cornas is pure Syrah, dark and powerful; Condrieu is pure Viognier, with apricot and violet, and had shrunk to about a dozen hectares by the 1950s. Today it is back above 200.
In the south Grenache leads, joined by Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. The mistral keeps the grapes dry and healthy, the sun ripens them fully: the wines are warm and spicy, with cherry, pepper and the herbs of the garrigue. The best-known name is Châteauneuf-du-Pape, named after the “new castle” of the Avignon popes of the 14th century. The rules admit 13 varieties (18 if the colour variants are counted separately); almost all the wine is red, and white is a rarity. The galets roulés, large round pebbles, store heat by day and release it to the vines at night. Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cairanne and Rasteau are other crus; Tavel is a rosé-only cru.
The hierarchy is straightforward. Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages together make up more than half of the area; some twenty villages may add their name to “Villages”, and the crus have their own appellation with stricter rules. About three-quarters of the wine is red, with the rest split between rosé and white.
At the table: a simple Côtes du Rhône goes with grilled meat, charcuterie and hard cheese, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas with lamb and game, Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage with braises and pepper steak, Condrieu with asparagus or chicken in cream sauce. The Swiss link is obvious: Syrah has grown in Valais since the 1920s, and Marsanne is called Ermitage there. Tasting a Valais Syrah next to a Saint-Joseph or a Crozes-Hermitage shows well what climate and soil do.