Cairanne

Recently promoted to full appellation status, this southern Rhône region makes an array of quality wines, with dynamic producers showing just what the area is capable of, reports John Livingstone-Learmonth

‘IT’s bEEN A relentless struggle, but I am very happy now.’ These were the words of Denis Alary, president of the syndicat de Vignerons de Cairanne, in mid-February. He was referring to what can only be called the long saga of raising Cairanne from a Villages wine to cru – full appellation status – which started in July 2008. Endless disputes ensued, centred on which vineyards would not qualify for the new, tighter rules, and other new demands such as compulsory hand-harvesting.

Hand harvesting will protect old vines trained in the standalone gobelet fashion, and will set up correct crop discarding in tricky years, as was required in 2014. There is also the protection of wooded zones neighbouring the vineyards. In the cellar, a maximum use of sulphur on red wines is 100mg/l, below the Europe-wide level of 150mg/l, and closer to what organic certificates demand.

The new AC Cairanne promises a wide array of quality wines, both red and white. There are dozens of good domaines here, more than in any other local appellation apart from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas.