Côtes du Rhôneor or in English- Slopes or Hills of the Rhône-is one of the best French wines.
Located in the South East of France, the Cotes du Rhone wine region has a long history with strong influence over time, from the Romans to Monks and Abbeys. It is still a very popular wine, famous for being rich and fruity thanks to perfect weather conditions and long hours of sunshine.
Deep ruby in colour, this powerful offers aromas of dark cherries balanced with silky notes making it an agreeable accompaniment to red meat, game dishes and cheese.
Côtes du Rhône was with Provence the first region to produce wine in France. It seems that the first vine was planted by vine growers coming form Marseille. Because of the Rhône river, it was easy to send the bottles of wine to an harbor on the Mediterranean sea (Marseille). The vineyards was then developed by the Romans. The oldest vineyards are Côte Rôtie and Hermitage. The Rhône region has many Roman monuments to visit such as in Vienne city.
In the middle age, monasteries began to manage vineyards such as Châteauneuf which was rename Châteauneuf du Pape when the Popes used to spent their holidays there ! A clear sign of recognition for the region.
One very famous wine from this region is Côte Rôtie –the oldest vineyards in France.It was set up by the Romans. The Côte Rôtie with its hills bathed in sun, produces a warm, robust, full-bodied, richly colored red wine. Harsh and dark when they are young those wines become softer and develop with age an excellent bouquet. Two grape-varieties dominate the production, Viognier and Syrah.
Some Côte Rôtie wine makers and lovers use to split the best of the wines into brown Côte Rôtie and blonde Côte Rôtie. Browns are stronger and mature longer, blondes are more delicate.
Main characteristics
Colour: red; light to medium garnet
Body: medium bodied
Tastes: rich and fruity with powerful aromas of dark cherries
Spotter’s guide: South East of France
Keep or drink?
CHATEAU-GRILLET CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE CONDRIEU COTE ROTIE COTES DU RHONE Red COTES DU RHONE White COTES DU RHONE Rosé COTES DU RHONE-VILLAGES COTES DU VENTOUX CROZES-HERMITAGE GIGONDAS HERMITAGE VACQUEYRAS |
5 to 15 years and more 5 to 20 years 2 to 4 years 8 to 15 years 2 to 5 years 1 to 3 years drink now 2 to 6 years 1 to 3 years 2 to 6 years 3 to 12 years 10 to 20 years 5 to 10 years |
Price range: £6.99-£14.99
Enjoy.
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