Côtes
du Rhône
Côtes
du Rhône (English: Rhone Hills) is a wine-growing Appellation
d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for the Rhône wine region of France,
which may be used throughout the region, also in those areas
which are covered by other AOCs. In a limited part of the region,
the AOC Côtes du Rhône-Villages may be used, in some cases
together with the name of the commune.
Côtes
du Rhône are the basic AOC wines of the Rhône region, and exist
as red, white and rosé wines, generally dominated by Grenache
(reds and rosés) or Grenache blanc (whites).
Wines
have been produced in the region since pre Roman times, and those
from the right bank were the favorite wines of kings and the
papal community in Avignon at the time of the schism. In the mid
17th century the right-bank district of Côte du Rhône had
issued regulations to govern the quality of its wine and in 1737
the king ordered that casks of wine shipped from the nearby river
port of Roquemaure should be branded with the letters CDR to
introduce a system of protecting its origin. The rules for its
Côte du Rhône thus formed the very early basis of today's
nationwide AOC system governed by the INAO.[1] The name was
changed to Côtes du Rhône when the left-bank wines were
included in the appellation some hundred years later. The
appellation received full recognition by a High Court decision in
1937, and the rules were revised in 1996 and 2001 to take into
account new conditions of production.
Roquemaure is known
as "La Capitale des Amoureux", or "The Capital of Lovers". In
1868 the relics of St. Valentine arrived after being purchased
from Rome by Maximilian Richard, a local dignitary as it was
believed that the relics would protect the vines from phylloxera
which ravaged the vineyards in 1866. The relics are kept in the
14th century collegiate church and each year the St Valentine
Festival of the Kiss attracts over 20,000 people.
Reporter
Pierre-Marie Doutrelant revealed that "the growers of Côtes du
Rhône planted mourvèdre and syrah, two low-yield grapes that
give the wine finesse, strictly for the benefit of government
inspectors. Then, when the inspectors left, they grafted cheap
high-yield vines—grenache and carignan—back onto the vines"
(Prial)
At the
generic level, the official AOC Côtes du Rhône region stretches
200 km from Vienne in the north to Avignon in the south and from
the foothills of the Massif Central in the west to the
fore-slopes of the Vaucluse and Luberon mountains east of the
town of Orange. 171 communes in the French departments of
Ardèche, Bouches du Rhône, Drôme, Gard, Loire, and Vaucluse
are concerned with production from the 83,839 (2008) hectares of
vineyard. The average yield is 52 hectolitres per hectare. Wines
of all three colours must have a minimum alcohol content of 11%.
The average annual production of CDR of around 3.3 million
hectolitres - 419 million bottles - (2005/2006), is assured by
5,292 concerns including 5,202 growers, 875 private producers, 70
co-operative wineries, and 20 merchant/producers and blenders,
making it one of the largest single appellation regions in the
world.
Red and
rosé wines are made from Grenache Noir, Syrah, Cinsault,
Carignane, Counoise and Mourvèdre grapes varieties. A maximum of
20% white varieties may be used in the rosés. With the exception
of Northern wines using a majority of Syrah, all reds must
contain a minimum of 40% Grenache to be blended into the Côtes
du Rhône, and up to 5% of white grapes may be used. The whites
must contain a minimum blend of 80% Clairette, Grenache Blanc,
Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, and Viognier. Ugni Blanc and
Picpoul Blanc may be used as secondary varieties.
There
are two sub regions of Rhône wines:
1.
Côtes du Rhône septentrional in the northern part of the region
from Vienne to Valence. The vines are cultivated on very steep
slopes making the harvest extremely arduous. The grapes are
manually picked and have to be hauled up the hillside on
trolleys, a feature which adds to the price.
2.
Côtes du Rhône méridional from Montélimar to Avignon in the
southern latitudes, produced by 123 communes. The great majority
of these are cultivated on the eastern side of the Rhône between
the river bank near the town of Orange, and the Vaucluse-Luberon
chain of mountains.
The
reds range in color from deep crimson and ruby to almost purple
and are generally full-bodied with rich but smooth tannins,
though Lirac and others from the right bank tend to be somewhat
lighter. They all go very well with game and other rich meat
dishes.
The
whites range from dry with a tang of citrus to fuller, rounder
wines which can be consumed as an aperitif. Condrieu, a
septentrional, is one of the rarest white wines in the world and
is produced from 100% Viognier - a notoriously difficult grape to
vinify.
Year of
Production: In general, the year-to-year climate of the region
remains fairly constant although there may be rare occasions of
spring frost which may damage the buds, thus reducing the overall
yield. Drought may also affect the quantity of production.
Sunlight levels are usually the average to be expected. The year
of production on a label is therefore not necessarily a sign of
any particular quality due to exceptionally favorable wine
growing weather; it is more indicative of how the wine can be
expected to have matured over a number of years.
Côtes
du Rhône-Villages
Further
up the scale from the Côtes du Rhône AOC the Côtes du
Rhône-Villages AOC is produced by 95 authorized communes in the
departments of the Ardèche, the Drôme, the Gard, and the
Vaucluse. The appellation includes 95 communes, with a total of
approximately 3,000 hectares under cultivation. The average yield
is approximately 38 hectolitres per hectare. The Grenache grape
is required to be present at not less than 50%, with 20% Syrah
and/or Mourvèdre. A maximum of 20% of other authorised varieties
is permitted. The minimum required alcoholic strength is
12%.
Côtes
du Rhône Villages (named village)
Next in
the hierarchy, 19 of the Côtes du Rhône Village appellations
are authorised to include their village name on the label. With
approximately 6,500 hectares under cultivation, the average yield
is approximately 37 hectolitres per hectare.[5] Cairanne,
Chusclan, Laudun, Massif d'Uchaux, Plan de Dieu, Puyméras,
Rasteau, Roaix, Rochegude, Rousset-les-Vignes, Sablet, Saint
Gervais, Saint Maurice, Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes, Séguret,
Signargues, Valréas, Visan,
Crus
At the
most demanding level of distinction, a total of 15 crus are
allowed to be recognized by their village name without requiring
the mention of Côtes du Rhône on the label. With the unique
exception of Château-Grillet, a white septentrienal within the
AOC Condrieu, a feature of the nomenclature of CDR wines is that
at the top level they are named only after their villages, and
not after châteaux as is usual for Bordeaux wines. Tavel is a
rosé only, very light and dry, which is usually drunk chilled,
and can be enjoyed at anytime of the day. Beaumes de Venise AOC,
Château-Grillet AOC, Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC, Condrieu AOC
Cornas AOC, Côte-Rôtie AOC, Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Gigondas AOC,
Hermitage AOC, Lirac AOC, Saint Joseph AOC, Saint Péray AOC,
Tavel AOC, Vacqueyras AOC, Vinsobres AOC.
