Contents
Wines from the Rhone Valley are produced in the region of the same name in southern France. The first mention of the fermentation of grape juice in this area dates back to the XNUMXth century BC, when the territory belonged to the Greeks, but winemaking began only a few centuries later, under the Romans. Real fame for the wines of the Rhone came at the beginning of the XIV century, when Pope Clement V moved from Rome to Avignon and the Catholic Church began to intensively cultivate vineyards.
In the middle of the 1737th century, the quality of local wines began to be controlled – a list of requirements was introduced, and in XNUMX the king ordered the barrels of Rhone wines to be labeled with the letters CDR – this was the first attempt to protect the product by origin, the forerunner of the modern system of appellations. At first, only vineyards from the right bank of the Rhone were included in the category; in the XNUMXth century, left-bank farms were added to them.
The phylloxera epidemic literally mowed down the local vineyards; the region was able to fully recover from this blow only in the 1960s.
The Rhone Valley is the second largest wine region in France, second only to Burgundy.
Characteristics of the region
The Rhone Valley stretches from the Alps to the Mediterranean, with vineyards on both sides of the river, between Vienna and Avignon, south of Lyon. The region has a rich variety of soils and microclimates, and many grape varieties grow here.
Northern sub-region
The northern part of the valley is only 40 km long, this zone accounts for no more than 4-5% of the total wine production. It has a continental climate – hot summers, cold winters and abundant rainfall all year round. The vineyards are located on terraces, “carved” into fairly gentle hills. The famous Syrah variety originated in the northern Rhone, where it reaches its full potential and produces a full-bodied, spicy and elegant wine.
Southern subregion
The southern part of the Rhone Valley is similar to Provence – a long warm summer has set in, winters are mild, there is less rainfall than in the north, but most importantly, the Mistral is blowing. Also, the taste of wine is influenced by garrig – shrub thickets with a unique herbal aroma.
Mistral is a wind of almost hurricane force that blows 150 days a year. Despite the fact that the mistral can damage the vine, it disperses the clouds and provides the vineyards with unhindered access to sunlight, due to the strong wind in the region it is always quite cool and excess moisture does not accumulate on the berries, which provokes the development of the fungus.
If Syrah reigns in the north, then the south is famous for the Grenache variety. Other common varieties: Mourvedre, Cinsault, Counoise, Carignan, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc. They make strong, sweet and fruity wines with notes of ripe cherries, raspberries, strawberries, herbs de Provence and olives.
Rhone wine classification
Local wines are divided into four categories (in order of increasing quality):
- Côtes du Rhone AOC. This category includes about 50% of all wines produced in the region. Brands with this label are made mainly from red varieties of Grenache and Syrah, grown in a variety of soils. There are no strict rules, in order to comply with the requirements of the Côtes du Rhône AOC, the blend must include 21 permitted varieties of berries (in any combination and proportion), and the finished product cannot contain less than 11% alcohol. Wines in this category are affordable, easy to drink and perfect for family lunches or dinners. There are also white and pink variations, but they are less common.
- Côtes du Rhone Villages AOC. These wines have a more complex bouquet. The vines are thinned out so that the yield does not exceed the established level and the berries ripen well. The finished drink is stronger than the representatives of the previous category, they are rarely drunk young, more often aged in oak barrels.
- Côtes du Rhone (name) Villages AOC. The same as the previous paragraph, but the name of the village is indicated on the label. Wine with this label is produced in 21 villages: Visan, Puyméras, Séguret, Saint-Gervais, Suze-la-Rousse, Sainte-Cécile, Valréas, Vinsobres, Roaix, Sablet, Sinargues, Rochegude, Chusclan, Rousset-les-Vignes, St -Pantaléon-les-Vignes, St-Maurice-sur-Eygues, Gadagne, Laudun, Massif d’Uchaux, Plan de Dieu, Vaison la Romaine.
- Cru. All in the Rhone there are 17 cru (8 in the north and 9 in the south), each of which has a distinct terroir. These wines account for about 20% of the total output. List of cru: Beaumes des Venise AOP, Cairanne AOP, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOP, Gigondas AOP, Lirac AOP, Tavel AOP, Rasteau AOP, Vacqueyras AOP, Vinsobres AOP, Cornas AOP, Condrieu AOP, Château-Grillet AOP, Côte-Rôtie AOP, Crozes-Hermitage AOP, Hermitage AOP, Saint-Joseph AOP, Saint Péray AOP, Diois AOP (last, eighteenth, geographically not on the river Rhone).
AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protegee) is the same as AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlee).
Wine schools and wine brands
In the 1980s, in the Rhone Valley, especially in its northern part, the traditional approach to winemaking prevailed – grapes were fermented in whole bunches, fermentation itself took longer, aging took place in old barrels. Marius Gentaz, Noël Verset, Auguste Clape and Raymond Trollat have been especially successful in this approach.
However, already in the 1990s, the farms began to switch to the “new style” – before fermentation, the grapes began to be divided into berries, fermentation was stimulated in order to “pull out” the maximum taste and color from the grapes. Brand new barrels appeared in the wine cellars.
Today, the most common mix of these approaches, called the “classical school” – each manufacturer decides for himself what and how to do, the main thing is that the wines of each appellation have a recognizable character, unlike the products of the neighboring cru.
Modern famous brands of wines from the Rhone Valley: René Rostaing and the Jamet brothers in Côte Rôtie, Chave and Sorrel in Hermitage, Gonon in St. Joseph and Thierry Allemand in Cornas.