The Northern Rhône

Question 1

What is the only black grape variety permitted in the Northern Rhône?

Answer 1

Syrah

Question 2

What is the style of Syrah in the Northern Rhône?

Answer 2

• Deeply coloured, medium to high levels of tannin with black fruit, black pepper or floral aromas.
• Some use of new oak for best wines
• Some use older oak or larger barrels
• Viognier is sometimes added to ferment with the Syrah to stabilise the colour and add extra aromatic intensity.

Question 3

What is the style of Viognier in the Northern Rhône?

Answer 3

• full-bodied white wine with perfumed aromas of blossom and apricots and flavours of stone fruits.
• low acidity and high alcohol.
• Grapes develop signature aromas later in the season when sugar levels are very high.

Question 4

What are the styles of Marsanne and Roussane wines?

Answer 4

• usually blended together.
• Marsanne - has a richness and weight
• Roussane- offers acidity and perfumed fruit
• Don’t have the aromatic intensity of Viognier but develop complex hazelnut aromas.

Question 5

What is the style of wine in Côte Rôtie (Roasted Slope) ?

Answer 5

• Only produces red wines
• up to 20% Viognier can be added.
• Deep coloured, full-bodied, spicy and the best have aromatic, floral freshness and textural elegance

Question 6

What type of wine is made in Condrieu?

Answer 6

white wine made solely from the Viognier grape.

Question 7

What types of wines are made in Saint-Joseph?

Answer 7

• Most wines are red (Syrah) but some are white (Marsanne and Roussane)
• Best wines come from terraced vineyards near Tournon which have a flavour intensity and structure similar to Hermitage.

Question 8

What are the wines like in Hermitage?

Answer 8

Red Hermitage - fullest bodied of the Northern Rhone and ages well. Up to 15% of Roussanne and Marssane are permitted but this is rare now.

Question 9

What are the wines like in Crozes-Hermitage?

Answer 9

-the most important appellation in terms of volume. Red wines are made from Syrah with up to 15% R & M.
-Lighter wines: higher yielding flatter sites in the south
-Concentrated wines:more complex and tannic from vines grown on the steeper Northern slopes.
-More expensive wines are aged in oak.
Cornas

Question 10

What are the wines like in Cornas?

Answer 10

• the most southern and warmest of the crus.
• Wines must be made from 100% Syrah.
• Wines are deep coloured, full-bodied and in a style similar to Hermitage.

Question 11

What type of wine is made in the AOC of Chateau-Grillet?

Answer 11

Château-Grillet is a wine-growing AOC in the northern Rhône wine region of France, near Vienne, which produces white wine from Viognier grapes.