Southern Rhone Flashcards
How does the topography of the Southern Rhône differ from that of the Northern Rhône?
The Southern Rhône is considerably less hilly than the Northern Rhône, and in many places quite level and flat.
What are the characteristics of the best vineyards of the Southern Rhône?
Many of the best vineyards in the Southern Rhône have stony soils which absorb the sun’s heat during the day and warm the vineyard in the evening.
Soils in Chateauneuf du Pape
Galets
Galets are large stones or pebbles which are characteristic of some of the best vineyard soils of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOP.
What is the climate of the Southern Rhône?
Mediterranean
- The Southern Rhône has milder winters, drier summers.
Climate issue in Southern Rhone. Caused by what?
Draught caused by Mistral.
What is Mistral?
Powerful, cold, dry, northwesterly wind which greatly affects the Rhône Valley and eastern portion of the Languedoc.
The Mistral can cause large-scale damage to vineyards in the Southern Rhône because the land here is flat with nothing to block the wind.
Training system in Southern Rhone
Grenache
Bush training to keep the vines low to the ground =
・minimizing the risk of wind damage.
・Benefit from the warmth of the soils.
Syrah, which is more prone to wind damage, will have more supportive training systems.
What else do they do to protect the vineyard from the Mistral?
There are fewer slopes to protect the vines from the wind, meaning windbreaks have to be planted.
How does the grape variety makeup of Southern Rhône wines differ from that of Northern Rhône wines?
In the Northern Rhône, wines will be made from only one or two grape varieties.
In the Southern Rhône, wines are often complex blends of grape varieties.
- Some Southern Rhône wines can be made from more than a dozen grape varieties!
The dominant grape variety of the Southern Rhône
Grenache
What are the grapes of the Southern Rhône’s G-S-M blend?
G - Grenache
S - Syrah
M - Mourvèdre
What characteristics will Grenache-based wines of the Southern Rhône take on during especially hot years?
The usual Grenache flavors of red fruit and spice will be more baked and jammy in especially warm vintages in the Southern Rhône.
What does Syrah provide in blends?
Syrah provides blends with extra colour and tannin.
Mourvedre
8
8 When it’s fully ripe, it can develop dense black fruit flavours, as well as gamey and meaty aromas
What else is Grenanche often blended with?
To produce what style of wine?
What does it provide in blends?
Cinsault
Production of fresh, fruity rose.
Providing red fruit flavours rather than tannin or colour.
