Looking to enjoy French wine on a budget? France’s Rhône Valley Wines offer excellent values in reds, whites, and rosés that also provide a diversity of grapes and complex flavor profiles.  Crisp and refreshing whites and rosés work well with winter citrus salads, seafood, and chicken.  Red blends pair with heartier and richer fair including stews, braised meats like lamb shank, and my favorite, cassoulet which we made in the instant pot for my birthday and Cassoulet Day with a blend of meats: duck, pork, and lamb along with cannelloni beans and root vegetables (recipe below!).

This month, the French Winophiles discuss the diversity of the Rhône Valley, north and south, including Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, and Côtes du Rhône Villages with a geographic indication. Scroll down to find links to their articles.

The Rhône is divided between north and south, distinguished in part by cooler and warmer climates with the north having a continental climate, and the south, a Mediterranean one. The north only makes 5% of the wine, and most of it leads with Syrah often blended with up to 15% of a white, and with a few white exceptions identified below: 

• Côte-Rôtie AOC
• Condrieu AOC: Viognier only.
• Château-Grillet AOC: Viognier.
• Saint-Joseph AOC:
• Crozes-Hermitage AOC
• Hermitage AOC
• Cornas AOC
• Saint-Péray AOC: sparkling and still whites of Marsanne and Roussanne.

In the south, 95% of the wine is produced, and with the following Southern Rhône appellations:

• Côtes du Vivarais AOC
• Côtes du Rhône AOC
• Côtes-du-Rhône Villages AOC
• Côtes du Rhône Villages (named villages)
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC
• Grignan-Les Adhemar AOC
• Vacqueyras AOC
• Rasteau AOC
• Cairanne AOC 
• Gigondas AOC
• Vinsobres AOC
• Lirac AOC
• Beaumes de Venise AOC
• Muscat de Beaumes de Venise AOC
• Tavel AOC

As host Jill Barth explains in her preview post, Côtes du Rhône, with 40k hectares of vineyards, may be most well known with half of the bottles produced but the other half of the productions comes from crus and village wines, plus several other appellations.

• Côtes du Rhône wines offer diverse and interesting blends from 171 communes growing grapes in various terroirs. While some of these grapes like syrah are familiar, others are less well known.

• Côtes du Rhône wines are famous for their blends with red and rosé wines typically combining Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre while whites contain Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Clairette, and Grenache Blanc.

• Côtes du Rhône come in three tiers: Côtes du Rhône means easy drinking, entry level, wines; Côtes du Rhône Villages brings more sophistication and distinctiveness; Côtes du Rhône Villages with a geographic indication hail from 22 communes officially recognized for their specific terroir and profiles. 

• Côtes du Rhône aromatic and textured white wines pair well with red snapper, sea bass, sushi, grilled shrimp, chicken, goat or Comté cheeses, and paella while Côtes du Rhône rosés do well with richer seafood like salmon or lobster, grilled pork, spicy Asian or Middle Eastern dishes, and reds cut through rich braised meat dishes of lamb and beef, crispy pork belly, or cassoulet.

• Near Côtes du Rhône Villages, you’ll find the lesser known Lirac and the better known Chateauneauf-du-Pape appellations as well as other distinct areas (refer to map above and discussion below) and which we discuss further below. 
• There are 16 named appellations: these indicate the cru (not Côtes du Rhône). These include the Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

 

Menu

• Simple Citrus Salad: tangerine segments on spring greens with lemon honey vinaigrette and toasted walnuts
• Sue and Gwendolyn’s Instant Pot Cassoulet (recipe below)

Wines

• 2021 M. CHAPOUTIER, Côtes-du-Rhône “Belleruche”, AOC Côtes du Rhône, Blanc
• 2021 Domaine de Mourchon AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Rosé Loubié
• 2016 Les Collines Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rouge
• 2019 Cave des Côteaux Côtes du Rhône  Vieilles Vignes
• 2016 Famille Brechet Plateau Des Chênes Lirac 
• Related: Domaine de Galuval AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc Le Coq Volant 2020 and others 
• Related: 3 Châteauneuf-du-Pape paired cassoulet  
• Related: more Lirac 
• Related: Rasteau paired with lamb daube

2021 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes Du Rhone 

ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $16
Grapes: Blend of Grenache blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Clairette, Bourboulenc
Importer: Folio Fine Wine Partners
sample for my review

Story: Chapoutier is a large company with a range of wines and price points made even more distinct by the Braille on their labels. The higher end wines are generally from their organic and biodynamic estate, but not all wines are certified or practicing. These grapes are grown on porous soils with plenty of water that warm up quickly in the spring which helps the grapes achieve maturity. Grapes are machine picked at night, lightly macerated, destemmed, pressed, fermented in stainless, then matured on the lees for five months.

Appearance: Pale yellow, pale lemon, crystal clear, 

Aroma: Lemon curd, bit of citrus blossom, lemon orchard on a dewey morning, meadow flowers, lightly petrol, chamomile, dried grasses, late summer, daisy, pollen, mud

Palate: Lemon, Eureka lemon, Meyer lemon and tangerine,  petrol, grass, a bit bitter on the back of the throat. Roundness mid palate and a tartness on the tip of the tongue, relatively simple wine. 

Pairing: The bright crisp notes of the salad married perfectly with the bright crisp notes in the wine. The honey vinegarette was lightly sweet bringing out a touch of sweet to the fruit in the wine. the toasted tannins in the walnuts bring out a lemon curd flavor in the wine. All in all it was a very nice pairing. 

2021  Domain De Mourchon “Loubie” Séguret AOC Cotes Du Rhone Villages

ABV: 13.5%
SRP: $17
Grapes: organic Grenache and Syrah
Importer: ?
sample for my review

Story: In Vaucluse, Séguret is one of several named villages including Gadagne, Massif d’Uchaux, Plan de Dieu, Puyméras, Roaix, Sablet, Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Séguret, Vai- son-la-Romaine, Valréas and Visan. These are known as Côtes du Rhône Villages with geographical names.

Appearance: Very pretty, pale salmon, very clear, platinum rim, almost rose gold

Aroma: Faint cherry, cherry blossom, red stone fruit orchard, you can smell green along with the fruit and florals, fresh cut watermelon, bubble gum

Palate: Tart cherry, watermelon, tart with bright acidity, bone dry, tangerine,  not sweet at all, the freshness of the nose comes through on the palate, nice pleasant lingering watermelon finish, 

Pairing: So very good with the salad, the toasted walnuts, grated Italian cheese, and the light lemon vinegarette are very nice with the wine. There is something about the toasted walnuts and the lemon vinegarette that work so well with the wine. Add crab cakes on top the salad for a nice light lunch. 

2016 Les Collines Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rouge

ABV: 14.5%
SRP:
Grapes: Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault
Importer: Sancan Merchants
purchased probably at Grocery Outlet 

Narrative: Not much to be found on the internet about this wine’s back story.

Appearance: Garnet, medium low density, mauve rim

Aroma: Carnation, roses, pepper, mixed floral perfume, fresh sliced ginger, subtle pine, Christmas spice, 

Palate: Light, elegant, etherial, available fruit, tart cherry, raspberry, more raspberry than cherry, dried ginger or gingerbread without the sweetness, essence of ginger, balanced acidity and tannins, very structured, 

This is not Mae West, but more Katherine Hepburn, austerity, upright and femine.  

Pairing: The creamy flavorful beans and the sweet earthy carrots and parsnips bring out sweet richness in the wine. This is a perfect pairing. Bright cranberry fruit and red current are brought out in the wine by the meal. There is an umami between the meal and the wine. 

We did not think this wine had much complexity until we tasted it with the food. This wine was the stand out pairing with our cassoulet. Tasting through the wine on its own we would not have thought this would be the stand out wine with the meal.

2019 Cave des Côteaux Côtes du Rhône  Vieilles Vignes

ABV: 14.5%
SRP: 
Grapes: Syrah
Importer: Evaki Inc
purchased at Grocery Outlet  

Story: Didn’t find out much on the internet about this wine either. 

Appearance: Very deep and rich, plum, light rosey rim, 

Aroma: Fabulous! Violets, plum, rich fruit and forest floor, roses, I loved this fantastic nose, pepper

Palate: Dry but mouthwatering, tannic, tannins from tea over tannins from oak, blueberry, bramble berry, pepper, sage, leaving a fuzzy mouthfeel of sage, earthy, black current tea, lots of black current and blackberry, 

Pairing: The pepper in the wine brings out the touch of black pepper in the dish. This wine works fine with the meal. It does not fight with it in any way. It is delicious with the meal. But when looking at all of these three red wines and the meal, it lacked the complexity and umami that the others offered with the wine. The wine became a bit flat and flabby with the meal, it was unable to match the umami and complexity of the meal, however, it is less expensive, and in this case, you get what you pay for. Sometimes Grocery Outlet wines over-perform; this one was under $10, and while adequate, not as interesting as the others. 

2016 Famille Brechet Plateau Des Chênes Lirac