Collections from Côtes du Rhône
We’re falling in love with France this month visiting some of the country’s most cherished regions. Directing our attention to the Rhône Valley, we poured a few bottles of yummy Côtes du Rhône to continue the tour.
The Rhône Valley, found in the southeastern region of France, has built a reputation for the “best bargain red wines” from the country. Two major red grapes break up the northern and southern part of the region.
In the northern valley, Syrah sings as it’s grown along the river. “Syrah Syrah” has such a lovely tune and taste. Rhône Syrah is known for its more savory profile with notes of black olive, plum, and dried green herbs.
A go-to wine during my shopping, I purchased another bottle of Saint Cosme Cotes du Rhone 2018. Found on the site of a Gallo-Roman villa located north of the village of Gigondas, Saint Cosme’s history believes it likely already had a vineyard as the estate's existence dates back to 1416. A great story to study, the Barruol's ancestors acquired Saint Cosme in 1570, and at the end of the sixteenth century built a splendid residence over existing cellars.
Though they recommend keeping this wine to age, I couldn’t wait. I had earlier vintages, and they stood up quite well, though I agree each could use more time to store and settle in the bottle. The 100% Syrah wine brings a mouth full of violets, black olives, cassis, and blueberry flavors with an expressive medium to full-bodied taste with slight, silky tannins. We opened the first bottle with friends while moving my parents. I’ve been trying to learn the preferences between my mother & father to find wines they could both enjoy together. This is always a solid, safe bet as we all enjoyed our pours on a temperate winter night casually sitting around the fire – how great does that sound! (And tasted even better!)
Darker in color, I don’t traditionally see the deeper purple with this wine. In this pour, I certainly tasted the cassis and blueberry. Towards the end, I even picked up a chocolate flavor, which makes sense why my mother enjoys it as she always loves wines with these similar rich notes. The beauty of this wine is how I never have the same experience when I open the bottle. Though sometimes I love it more than others, it’s a solid purchase at about $14.99 per bottle.
Further south, the Grenache grape flourishes in the warmer region. The climate also helps create a well-priced wine with well-balanced flavors pairing with many different foods, especially light meats & hearty cheese. The Southern Rhône is known for its blends of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. These wines display ripe raspberry, plum, and dried lavender with a smoky overtone.
Outside of Orange, Domain St. Luc is built upon a collection of 50-year-old vines, mainly Grenache. The land is made of several soil types like lithosol, marl, and red clay soils along two immense terroirs of the southern Rhone Valley – Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Surrounded by numerous other vineyards, this area has the ability to grow a wider range of grapes, including 10 red grapes permitted to blend with Grenache. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignane, and Cinsault are also widely planted. For this particular blend, they included 60% Old Grenache vines, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, and the remaining 10% varies of Cinsault, Cournoise & Carignan.
Opening the 2016 Domaine Santa Duc, Les Vieilles Vignes Côtes-du-Rhône, the first Santa Duc I tried, I remember slightly more tannin than the Saint Cosme. The second pour showed lighter color and had a muted fruity nose with hints of spice, slight pepper and a little clove. We sampled the two blends over a light parmesan flavored couscous giving a subtle body to the lighter red wines. After a few sips, we tasted the fruity, berry flavors with the slight tug on the sides of the tongue. As it opens up, you’ll get the full tannin feel across the pallet. The flavor comes from ageing in vats on lees with a small dose of Sulphur to enhance the fruit and its freshness. In certain lights, you could see the purple tone with the bright garnet edges. Make sure to take time to allow the wines to open and swirl around in your glass. This helps pull the air through opening the definition of the wine and giving more body to the blend.
When you’re looking for something even lighter, we also love the Rhone Valley for its victorious Viognier. I can’t wait to dabble more in this region’s whites. I know this grape better as the grape of Virginia – I love Viognier white wines, especially from Virginia or Georgia, by itself and when blended with other white wines like Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc. Guess we’ll have to add this Rhône White to our next shopping trip!
What are your favorite wines from this region? I would love to hear your comments below! Share with me and post @pour_atlanta on Instagram or @pouratlanta21 on Facebook. Till my next pour from France – Cheers to Côtes du Rhône!