Chateauneuf & the Rhone
The Rhone Valley is split in 2: The Northern Rhone and The Southern Rhone. The Northern Rhone is mostly red wine producing, and generally the appellations require 100% Syrah grape only. It houses some of the most famous names in the wine world such as: Hermitage, St. Joseph, Cornas & Cote Rotie (the later allows Viognier the white grape in the wine). There are also some famous white wine expressions such as Condrieu. The North accounts for only 5% of the regions production, the other 95% is produced by The Southern Rhone.
The South produces huge amounts of wine and it is second only to Bordeaux in terms of volume. Where the North is Syrah dominated, the South is blend dominated, but Grenache is the leading grape and there is plenty of 100% Grenache examples made. The wines are plush and generous. Most of the production falls into the gargantuan Cotes-du-Rhone appellation. Essentially a regional blend, lots of producers may draw some of their fruit from the North. There are a number of other appellations and the biggest are the other 2 that we are concerned with here, the first is Gigondas, which is a large step up from the Cotes-du-Rhone. Some people have it as the best production area in the Rhone, but the most famous is certainly Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape means the new house of the Pope. The name came about because back in the day the Pope was a big fan of the wines that came from here and so decided to move the papacy down to Auvergne so he could get on the piss full time! There are 13 permitted varieties. The most famous house in region; Rayas makes their wine with 100% Grenache, whereas Beaucastel, arguably the second most famous uses all of the permitted varieties - there is plenty of freedom. The big stones (galets) in the vineyard retain heat and help produce the big bold style that many of us know and love. These wines are bigger, plush and universally popular. Grenache is the key variety but the best will have a packed supporting act led by Syrah.
So what happened and why did Chateauneuf and the Rhone seem to lose it's lustre in some minds? Wine Advocate and Robert Parker the world's most famous/notorious wine critic has long described CDP as having the best wines in the world. The name is so popular that prices naturally went up and exceeded value. The birth of natural wines and trendy labelling further impacted the classically styled wines of the Rhone. Like many regions around the world, producers had to learn how to manage the increasing temperatures, keep alcohol in check and create fresh acidity in the wine. They are now doing so with aplomb, creating more freshness in their wines, and ghey are now far more approachable than they were. We reckon the region and the style are coming in from the cold. The Cotes-du-Rhones are very versatile and will fit any occasion.
Cheers
Rory
