Rhone Valley Flashcards
Rhone Valley map
Rhone geographic markers (north, dividing line, south)
- Lyon to the north
- Montelimar is unofficially dividing line
- Avignon to the south
Rhone River
Originates in Switzerland and flows south through France into the Mediterranean Sea.
Northern Rhone topography
HILLY
Steep hills, Rhone River reflects sunlight and provides more exposure. It also concentatrs the effects of the Mistral.
Southern Rhone topography
FLATTER
Rolling hills, the Rhone River provides cooling impact and less slope
Galets (soil)
Large smooth round stones size of baseballs to melons
Pros - protect from soil erosion due to Mistral wind & help ground retain moisture in heat
Cons - can retain heat and accelerate grape ripening
Vine training in Rhone
North - terraced slopes with staked vines to protect from Mistral
South - Bush/goblet to conserve water and provide shade from sun
Cause & effect of co-fermentation
- Enhance color, soften texture, boost aromas
- Typically done with Syrah and Viognier in Northern Rhone (Cote Rotie)
- Viognier enhances & helps retain the color of Syrah
- Viognier has spice and peach aromas that enhance aromas of Syrah
- Silkier mouthfeel
- Popular in Cote Rotie
Reason for blending in the south
- Syrah tends to lose focus and intensity in heat of Southern Rhone
- Blending produces more complex, elegant, & intriguing wines than any of the varieties vinified alone.
- Gives winemaker more control over taste profile
Strength & weaknesses of Granache
- Color challenged - skin has very little pigment (anthocyanins)
- Prone to oxidation
- Does not have enough character of its own to produce a great and stable wine
- High alcohol
White grapes of Northern Rhone
- Viognier
- Marsanne
- Roussane
White grapes of Southern Rhone
- Grenache Blanc
- Bourboulnec (adds acidity to blends)
- Clairette (fresh & aromatic when grown at low yields)
- Picpoul (modest quality, blending grape)
Red grapes of Northern Rhone
Syrah
Red grapes of Southern Rhone
- Granache
- Mourvedre
- Cinsault (adds cherry and cranberry aromas, good in roses)
Northern Rhone AOPs
(North to south)
Cote Rotie (red)
Condrieu (white)
Chateau Grillet (white)
St Joseph (red and white)
Crozes Hermitage (red and white)
Hermitage (red and white)
Cornas (red)
Cote Rotie
Red: Syrah
Chateau Grillet
White: Viognier
Condrieu
White: Viognier
St. Joseph
Red: Syrah
White: Roussanne, Marsanne
Crozes Hermitage
Red: Syrah
White: Roussanne, Marsanne
Hermitage
Red: Syrah
White: Roussanne, Marsanne
Southern Rhone classification tiers
- Cru/Single village (Chateauneuf du Pape, Tavel, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes de Venise)
- Cotes du Rhone Villages
- Cotes du Rhone
Cru/Single Village AOPs
(North to South)
Gigondas (red and rose)
Beaumes de Venise (fortified, sweet)
Vacqueyras (red)
Chateauneuf du Pape (red and white)
Tavel (rose)
Gigondas
Red: GSM + Cinsault
Beaumes de Venise
Fortified and sweet
White: Muscat blanc a Petits Grains
Vacqueyras
Red: GSM + Cinsault
White: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc
Chateaneuf du Pape
Red: GSM + Cinsault
White: Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Bourboulenc
Tavel
ROSE
Red: GSM + Cinsault
White: Clairette, Picpoul, Bourboulenc
Cotes du Rhone & Cotes du Rhone villages
Vast, flat, spread out over north and south but primarily in south.
Make up 59% of Rhone wines
Cotes du Rhone is more basic, Cotes du Rhone villages is a step up in quality
95 villages in Cotes du Rhone villages
Cotes du Rhone villages examples
Nyons, Rochegude, Rousset-les-Vignes, Gadagne, Massif d’Uchaux, Plan de Dieu
Min abv in Chateauneuf du Pape
12.5%
Min Granache requirements in Southern Rhone
Red Southern Rhône wines must contain a minimum of 40% Grenache and may contain up to 5% white grapes. A
Vin Doux Naturels & Rhone examples
Sweet wine
Examples:
Muscat de Beaumes de Venise - ligtly fortified, unoaked, peach and apricot flavors
Rasteau vin doux naturel - granache based sweet wine
Rhone valley producers
Jean-Louis Chave (Hermitage)
M. Chapoutier (Hermitage)
Guigal (Cote Rotie, Gigondas)
Chateau de Beaucastel (Chateauneuf du Pape)
Chateau Rayas (Chateauneuf de Pape, $$$)
Papal lore (occupation & crest)
- In 14th century the French pope (Clement V) resided in Avignon just south of vineyards instead of Rome
- His successor built a summer home among the vineyards
- Vast improvement of winemaking in the region in 20th century earned it the name Chateauneuf du Pape
- 1937 bottle with first papal crest was created, most bottles display said crest.
Rhone food pairings
Chateauneuf du Pape - Burger w/ bacon and grilled mushrooms (dark fruit balances the grilled beef and the earthy notes bring out forest floor flavours of the mushrooms, pepper adds nice dimension)
Cheateaunuef du Pape - Osso Bucco (cherry notes liven up dish, pepper adds nice dimension)
Cote Rotie - Herb crusted lamb chops or barbecue pork (the spices will sing against the smoke you can find in Syrah)
Muscat de Beaumes - pan fried duck foie gras
What is a galet?
- French word for large round stone ranging in size from fist to small melon
- Soils of CNDP are covered in galets
- Rocky remenants left behind by scraping action of ancient Alpine glaciers that were then tossed and rolled by Rhone river until they became round
