French Wine Region: Reds from the Southern Rhone Valley

The French wine region in the Southern Rhone grows many red wine varieties. This is just one factor that makes this region different from the Northern Rhone wine region.

This French wine valley sits just to the north of the Provence and Languedoc wine regions. The Rhone River runs through this region. Some wineries sit right along the river, but it is spread out and some are up to thirty miles away.

The southern wine region is about 30 miles south of the northern Rhone wine region. In between the two, other produce grows, but no wine.

The wines in this French wine region are more diverse but also more complex than those in the north. There is also less variation from one vintage to the next. The reason is that the Rhone wine makers in this region enjoy a Mediterranean climate. The summers are hot and sunny, but have cool nights. This offers full ripeness of the grapes and it balances out the acidity.

This wine region in France has several different soil types. This creates very different terriors throughout the region.

The entire Rhone Valley, both north and south, produces 86% red, 9% rose and 5% white. Twenty-seven grape varieties grow in the southern Rhone Valley region. Learn more about the northern Rhone Valley in the article: Rhone Wine: Red Wines from the Northern Rhone Valley in France.

Grenache wine, also called Grenache Noir, is one of the major red wines here. It accounts for 65% of the plantings in the southern region. Syrah wine is next with about 18% and Mourvedre is about 3% of the vines. Carignan and Cinsault are two other major red wine players.

The minor red wines in this French wine region are Muscardin, Camarese, Marselan, Vaccarese, Terret-Noir, Counoise and Picpoul Noir. Grenache Gris and Clairette Rose are two other red grapes used to make rose wines.

Most vines in the region are low to the ground and some are in a goblet style, similar to the picture on the right. This helps protect the vines from mistral wines. These are strong winds, with gusts up to 60 miles an hour, that race through this region. They happen about once in every three days and can significantly damage vines, so wine makers need to keep them properly maintained.

Very few regions in France allow irrigation. They allow it in this region, but the wine makers need to request permission first.

The land in this French wine region is not as steep as the northern Rhone wine region. Vineyards typically use machines to harvest their grapes each year vs. hand picking. An exception is that one AOC requires their vineyards to hand pick the grapes.

The best recent vintages for this part the Rhone Valley are 2000*, 2001*, 2003*, 2004*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007** and 2009. The ones with stars were exceptional vintages and the one with two stars was an outstanding year. Find ratings, reviews and prices for some great Grenache wines from Rhone.

Rhone Wine Quality Levels

There are five different AOC quality levels. This section includes information for the wines in both the northern and southern Rhone wine regions.

Cotes du Rhone: This is a regional or general AOC and is the lowest AOC quality level in this French wine region. Grapes for these blends can be from anywhere in the Cote du Rhone region. Wines from this AOC account for 50% of the production in the entire Rhone Valley. 95% of this production is from the southern Rhone region. The red wine blends have the following regulations:

• Minimum of 40% Grenache
• Maximum of 60% of Syrah and/or Mourvedre
• Maximum of 30% in total of the following wines: Carignan, Cinsault, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Picpoul Noir, Terret, Grenache Gris, Claret Rose
• Maximum of 5% white wine
• Must be at least 10.5% alcohol by volume

Cotes du Rhone Villages: The next quality level is the Cotes du Rhone Villages. There are 95 villages at this level and all of them are located in the south Rhone Valley region. The requirements for these red wines are:

• Mandatory blend
• Minimum of 50% Grenache
• Minimum of 20% Syrah and/or Mourvedre
• Other grape red varieties in region, no more than 20%
• Other white varieties in the region, no more than 20%
• Minimum 12.5% alcohol by volume

Cote du Rhone Villages-Names: This is the next highest quality level. Seventeen villages in the area continually had superior wines over the other villages. This led to the creation of a separate AOC level. Again, these are only in the southern region and the villages can add their names to the labels. The blending requirements for this level are the same as the Cotes du Rhone Villages listed above.

Cru: This is the highest level in the Cotes du Rhone French wine region. There are 16 Cru AOCs. Eight of them are in the north and the other eight in the south. The majority of the Crus AOCs are red. Seventy five percent of the production from these AOCs is in the south and the rest in the north. Here are the top southern Cru villages for red wine:

Other Rhone Wine AOCs & Quality Levels

In addition to the key AOCs listed above, Rhone Valley also has two other designations. One is Vins Doux Naturel with sweet fortified wines. The other is Vins du Pays, which are vineyards with a different type of quality system from the AOC regulation system.

Vins Doux Naturel: These are specialty AOCs that produce sweet, fortified wines. There are two AOCs in this category and both are located in the southern Rhone French wine region. The AOCs create red, white and rose wines. Rasteau is one of the two AOCs and it creates sweet, fortified red wines. Here are the requirements for the reds in this AOC:

• 90% must be Grenache Noir, remaining 10% from any grape variety in the AOC
• Most are 100% Grenache Noir
• Require 11% residual sugar
• Minimum of 15% alcohol by volume

Vins de Pays: This is another category of wines in this French wine region. These wines are outside the AOC system and are mostly lesser quality wines that those with AOC designation. These wines were originally table wines for locals throughout France, but as quality improved, some producers began to ship them outside of their regions. They are regulated, but the rules are not as strict as the AOC system. If you are looking for a more modest, budget friendly wine, look for Vins du Pays wines from this region and other French wine regions.