Southern Rhône

The most famous cru of the southern Rhône, spread over five communes of the Vaucluse around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, fifteen kilometres north of Avignon. Eighteen varieties are authorised — thirteen if the colour forms of Grenache, Clairette and Piquepoul are grouped together — but no proportion rule governs the blend: Grenache dominates in practice, grown on the famous rolled-pebble terraces that give back the day's heat overnight.

A southern Rhône cru confined to the single commune of Gigondas, in the Vaucluse, at the foot of the limestone Dentelles de Montmirail. Its vines climb from 160 to 400 metres, on slopes and on old terraces of the Ouvèze. Recognised in 1971, the appellation is overwhelmingly red: a majority of Grenache blended with Syrah, Mourvèdre or Cinsaut; it also makes small amounts of rosé and of whites led by Clairette.

A southern Rhône cru on the river's right bank, in the Gard, covering four communes: Lirac, Roquemaure, Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas and Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres, neighbours of Tavel. Its vines run from 50 to 200 metres, from high clay terraces strewn with large rolled pebbles to the loess or clay-limestone soils of the slopes. Recognised in 1947, following a 1945 ruling by the court at Uzès, the appellation was, according to its specification, the first Côtes du Rhône cru allowed to make all three colours. It produces mainly Grenache-based red blends, along with rosés and whites.

A southern Rhône cru on the right bank, some fifteen kilometres north-west of Avignon, in the Gard: its area covers mainly the commune of Tavel and a small part of Roquemaure. Recognised as early as 1936, among the first controlled appellations, it produces rosé wine only. Its rosés are blends that always include Grenache, alongside a long list of black and white grapes. The specification describes them as structured, deeply coloured rosés, left on the skins longer than a white wine and for less time than a red.

A southern Rhône cru covering the communes of Vacqueyras and Sarrians, in the Vaucluse, between Gigondas to the north and Beaumes-de-Venise to the south-east, on the left bank of the Ouvèze. The vineyard lies mostly on broad stony river terraces between 60 and 160 metres above sea level. Formerly part of Côtes du Rhône Villages, the appellation became a cru in its own right in 1990. It makes mostly Grenache-based reds, with a little rosé and white.