Appellation
Côtes du Rhône
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedRoséWhite
Rhône Valley · Recognised on 19 November 1937
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- From Vienne to Avignon across 6 departments; mostly made in the south.
- At most 51 hl/ha; at least 11% natural alcohol in the south, 10.5% in the north.
- South: reds and rosés blend 2+ principal varieties, Grenache included.
Grape varieties
RedRosé
Accessory varieties: Bourboulenc, Vaccarèse (grape entry not yet written), Caladoc, Carignan, Cinsaut, Clairette, Clairette Rose, Counoise (grape entry not yet written), Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Marsanne, Muscardin (grape entry not yet written), Piquepoul Blanc, Piquepoul Noir (grape entry not yet written), Roussanne, Terret Noir, Ugni Blanc, Viognier
Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 70% of the holding's vines
Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 20% of the holding's vines
Grenache: at least 30% of the vines, except north of the Montélimar parallel
Couston and Marselan are accessories too; with Caladoc, 10% at most
White
BourboulencClairetteGrenache BlancMarsanneRoussanneViognier
Accessory varieties: Clairette Rose, Grenache Gris, Piquepoul Blanc, Ugni Blanc
Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier · at least 80% of the holding's vines
The principal varieties make up most of the blend
Production rules
51
hl/ha
Maximum yield
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 129 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Slopes and terraces of the valley, from Vienne to Avignon
- Soils: River terraces, marl, limestone, sand and molasse
- Climate: Mediterranean south, temperate continental north; mistral
Wine style
- Red
- fruity
- generous
- good colour
- more tannic on stony soils
- Rosé
- dry
- fruity or floral
- also made as primeur
- White
- dry
- floral
- round
- sometimes tropical notes
AOC geographical area (by commune; not a vineyard plot delimitation): INAO, geographical areas of quality and origin labels (October 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
10 December 2024
Arrêté du 10 décembre 2024 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Côtes du Rhône » (JORF n°0293 du 12 décembre 2024, texte n°38 ; BO-Agri du 19 décembre 2024). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 19 novembre 1937.
Labelling terms
- "Primeur" or "nouveau" (reds and rosés), with the vintage compulsory
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges modifié de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Côtes du Rhône » (BO-Agri du 19 décembre 2024)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Côtes du Rhône » (rouge)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
The regional appellation of the Rhône Valley, recognised in 1937, whose geographical area runs from Vienne to Avignon across 171 communes in six departments. It covers still red, rosé and white wines, overwhelmingly red and mostly from the southern half, between Avignon and Donzère. South of the Montélimar parallel, Grenache is compulsory in reds and rosés, blended with Syrah and/or Mourvèdre; further north, Syrah has traditionally been preferred. It is the base of a family that has above it the separate Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation and the crus.
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Côtes du Rhône
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