Wine
Regions
Old World
France
Rhone

THE RHONE

Brief history

The vineyards of the Rhone Valley are perhaps the oldest in France, and the Rhone river is the center of the Rhone Valley. This valley has been a major highway between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe since at least the time of the Greeks, some 2500 years ago. Some of the earliest plantings were near Cornas around 500 BC. Greek Amphorae from the sixth century BC has been found in the upper Saone Valley as well as in the Jura. Local growers credit the Greek founders of Massilia with first planting the Muscat vine here, about 2500 years ago (Muscat Beaumes de Venise). During the 19th century, Hermitage wine was considered one of the greatest wines of France and on an 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 the historic city of Avignon. The Rhone Valley is, indeed, a river wine. It is wedged between the ancient geological formation of the Massif Central to the west and the mighty Alps to the east. The Rhone River drains vineyards from the steep cliffs of Cote Rotie to the broad plains beyond Tavel and all the way to the Mediterranean. In the South the vineyards are usually situated on beds of round pebbles or stones storing the sun's heat by day and radiating it back onto the vines at night, protecting them from damaging spring frosts and contributing to perfect ripening.

Gout de terroir-- taste of the earth. Many of the distinctions between the wines of the Rhone are largely due to the interaction of the soil and climate in a specific region.

Climate

The summers are long, consistently hot, and sunnier than any other major region in France, except for Provence and the Languedoc. This means that the 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 Mistral that 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 the Syrah grapes growing on granite based terraces. Those of the Southern Rhone are known as the Meridionales and are derived largely from the Grenache grape. Other widely planted red grapes are; Cinsault, Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignan.

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 for governing production of Chateauneuf-du-Pape wine back in 1923. These regulations have subsequently formed the basis for the entire Appellation Controllee system 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