New appellations, emerging producers, evolving styles – the Rhône Valley doesn’t stand still. Christina Albon believes there’s always a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered.
The Rhône Valley is not a new or up-and-coming region; the esteemed reds of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and more accessible, budget-friendly Côtes du Rhônes have been famous the world over for hundreds of years. But don’t be fooled; this is a region of continual development and discovery. For some vinous inspiration, let’s look at some wines and producers we think are worthy of discovery.
The historic, steeply-sloped terraces of the Northern Rhône have little room for expansion, so the focus is on careful land selection. Pascal and Catherine Jamet are undertaking this back-breaking work, all by hand, to plant almost extinct historic grape varieties (such as the white grape, Bia and red grape, Dureza – snap them up if you see them – production is tiny) and new vineyards on unadulterated land that proved too laborious to work for their ancestors. Their small winery, which sits at the foot of the 13th century listed monument Tour Blanche d’Arras- sur-Rhône, is surrounded by vines and is just a short but very steep drive up to the lofty heights of St-Joseph. They now work fully organically and parts of the vineyards are worked by horse to ensure they are of the highest quality.
Cornas is one of the smallest appellations of the Northern Rhône and in recent times has gone from being thought of as producing hardy, rustic expressions to refined, age- worthy and comparable to Hermitage in quality. As modern winemakers such as Jean-Pierre Mucyn have embraced the Cru, the edges have softened, and the wines offer greater balance, intensity and structure – all for a snip of what you would expect to pay for a classed-growth Bordeaux!
Moving south, in recent years the Southern Rhône Valley has seen a dynamic switch, villages that were once part of the Côtes du Rhône classification system have now broken free and been elevated to Cru status, demonstrating they are stars in their own right and should be talked about alongside Châteauneuf-du-Pape and not left in its shadow. The most recent village to be elevated is that of Laudun, on the west bank. This is where Frédéric and Josephine Arnaud have invested enormous amounts of time and energy renovating the house, winery and vineyards of Château Courac. At an elevation of 200m, they are surrounded by pine forests which hide underground springs providing the vines with much needed moisture in the increasingly drought-ridden climate, this in turn keeps their wine fresh, vibrant and juicy.
Although famed for their Châteauneuf-du-Papes, Marie and François Giraud also have vines just across the river in the less illustrious village of Lirac. With just a few hectares in this little-known appellation, where there are more trees than vines, their Les Sables d’Arène, is made in a similar style to their Châteauneufs, and from a similar blend of grapes – this wine packs a lot of punch for its relatively modest price tag.
Just to the north-east of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, are several top-quality villages packed into the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail. The first of these is Beaumes- de-Venise, traditionally more famous for its sweet Muscats, the red wines are now beginning to earn the credit they deserve. Domaine des Bernardins is a first-class property run by Romain Hall, his mother and father now having completely retired. They moved away from using herbicides several years ago, with the vines now officially in organic conversion and due to be certified in 2026. Romain’s wine, in the general style of the village, is a little lighter, softer and more forward than that of neighbouring villages.
In Vacqueyras, the next village along, brothers, Jean- Michel and Frédéric Archimbaud Vache have run their family domain Le Clos des Cazaux since taking over from their parents in 2010. Whilst Vacqueyras is now a well- regarded appellation, it was their family who were some of the first to bottle and promote the wines, helping it achieve Cru status in 1990. The bothers are hugely passionate about making great wines in a sustainable and respectful way to the environment. Most of their work in the vineyards is by hand with the aim of keeping their old vines healthy and yields low. They also have vines in Gigondas, where they make a freshly-fruited, earthy style.
Over the years, the reputation and quality of the wines of Gigondas have been steadily growing, and Domaine Cayron is one of the most respected producers. Gigondas is a patchwork of soils and microclimates with vines clinging to the hand-carved terraces of the Dentelles. The Faraud sisters, Roseline, Cendrine and Delphine, at Cayron, manage to interweave their 20+ parcels, which cover 16 ha in total, into a single outstanding wine (although the long rumoured special cuvée of Col du Cayron, is imminent, we believe). Josh Raynold, Rhône critic on Vinous.com (Jan 2023) puts it, “For decades, Domaine du Cayron has been one of the most consistent producers in Gigondas, with a superb quality-to-price ratio.” We wholeheartedly agree. If you have a keen eye on the wine press, you will have noted the most recent development in Gigondas is to allow white wines to be made in the appellation. These will start to trickle through to the UK in the next 12-18 months.
Due west of Gigondas lies the small named Côtes du Rhône village of Massif d’Uchaux, on a densely-forested hill close to the banks of the Rhône River. With just 189 ha in production, clearing the land and creating patchwork vineyards has been arduous work, only made possible with the use of machines. Arbouse is derived from a 29 ha site and is made by Marc Thomas and his team at La Cave Coteaux du Rhône Sérignan-du-Comtat. The cooperative has been established for 99 years but they are doing great things to make modern, exceedingly good value wines.
And finally, we couldn’t go without mentioning our Tanners Rhône Valley Red, made for us by Famille Gonnet. The domaine is managed following organic principles and run by cousins Guillaume and Bertrand Gonnet, who make a beautifully crafted wine for us, that just keeps on getting better and better.
