Wines from Southern Rhône

The Southern Rhone is big - separated by a mere 20 miles of no mans land from the Northern Rhone area, and cover some 35,000 hectares, 10 times the Northern Vineyard area. In the south it is a story of blends, with around 19 grape varieties in common use.

The vineyards are flat mostly, with arid plains of alluvial soil and stones, the detrius of thousands of years of rivers debris, resulting in the famous Galettes, rounded boulders and stones deposited by rivers long disappeared which act as night storage heaters of the fierce sun and increase the ripening, and therefore sugar, levels of the grapes.

Overall it is a region of BIG wines, from red and white Chateauneuf du Pape, through Gigondas, Lirac, Vacqueyras, Cotes du Rhone etc, encompassing crisp Tavel Rose, through softer red and whites from the Vaucluse. This is a major powerhouse of French wine production,with a large amount of wines from the large Cooperatives that control much of the region - yet it is the quality, family domaines that make the best wines - names such as Vieux Telegraphe, Beaucastel, Domaine Palliere etc.