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THE RHONE
Brief history
The vineyards of the Rhone Valley are perhaps the oldest in France, andthe Rhone river is the center of the Rhone Valley. This valley has beena major highway between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe since at leastthe time of the Greeks, some 2500 years ago. Some of the earliest plantingswere near Cornas around 500 BC. Greek Amphorae from the sixth century BChas been found in the upper Saone Valley as well as in the Jura. Local growerscredit the Greek founders of Massilia with first planting the Muscat vinehere, about 2500 years ago (Muscat Beaumes de Venise). During the 19th century,Hermitage wine was considered one of the greatest wines of France and onan equal footing with any first growth Bordeaux or Grand Cru Burgundy.
Geography
The region extends about 130 miles from Vienne just south of Lyon to thehistoric city of Avignon. The Rhone Valley is, indeed, a river wine. Itis wedged between the ancient geological formation of the Massif Centralto the west and the mighty Alps to the east. The Rhone River drains vineyardsfrom the steep cliffs of Cote Rotie to the broad plains beyond Tavel andall the way to the Mediterranean. In the South the vineyards are usuallysituated on beds of round pebbles or stones storing the sun's heat by dayand radiating it back onto the vines at night, protecting them from damagingspring frosts and contributing to perfect ripening.
Gout de terroir-- taste of the earth. Many of the distinctions between thewines of the Rhone are largely due to the interaction of the soil and climatein a specific region.
Climate
The summers are long, consistently hot, and sunnier than any other majorregion in France, except for Provence and the Languedoc. This means thatthe vintages tend to be much more uniform than in Bordeaux or Burgundy.The vines of the Rhone Valley are prey to the notorious wind le Mistralthat blows down the valley from the north.
Grape Varieties
The Rhone Valley is divided into two main sections by the town of Valence.The northern vineyards known as the Septentrionales are dominated by theSyrah grapes growing on granite based terraces. Those of the Southern Rhoneare known as the Meridionales and are derived largely from the Grenachegrape. Other widely planted red grapes are; Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre andCarignan.
The main white varieties are Viognier, Clairette, Roussane and Bourboulec.Other white grapes used are Marsanne, Counoise, Muscardin and Picpoul.
Appellation Controlee System -- AOC
Baron Leroy, the owner of Chateau Fortia created the first wine laws forgoverning production of Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine back in 1923. These regulationshave subsequently formed the basis for the entire Appellation Controlleesystem presently used throughout France.
These are the elements covered by the AOC:
Area of Production
Variety of Grape
Degree of Alcohol
Yield per Hectare
Methods of vinification
Analyses & tasting
Bottling
VDQS
Vins de Pays
These are the great vintages of the last 20 years:
Northern Rhone: 91 90 89 88 85 83 78, 70
Southern Rhone: 93, 90 89, 88, 85, 78