49 Wine Jamie Goode sips chic and cheerful wines from southern France’s Rhone Valley
The Rhône Valley in the South of France is a large and wonderful wine region that’s currently making some of the country’s best-value wines. Quality has leapt in recent decades, and large wineries that used to turn out plonk are now making some delicious bottles. Most are supple reds but there are some tasty whites, too.
Château Le Devoy Martine Lirac Via Secreta 2017 Rhône £14.99, virginwines.co.uk (0333 259 6785), 13.5% alcohol white Rhône wines are often overlooked but this is delightful, with appealing soft pear, apple and peach fruit and a smooth texture in the mouth. Soft, luxurious fruits are the key here.
Les Closiers Lirac 2017
Rhône £10, Marks & Spencer, 14.5% alcohol
From Lirac, one of the 16 special subregions of the southern Rhône, this wine brings together grenache, syrah, mourvedre and cinsault grape varieties. It’s a lovely fresh, floral wine with red and some sleek black cherries and bright acidity. It tastes like a summer pudding with an autumnal twist and it’s very quaffable.
Domaine de la Combe Dieu Rasteau 2015 Rhône £8.99,
Lidl, 15% alcohol
Rasteau is one of the villages that put their names to wines in the southern Rhône. This is an expressive red with sweet plums, cherries and raspberries. It’s very satisfying with a nice freshness, a bit of peppery complexity and notes of warm herbs.
Clement V Côtes du Rhône 2018 £12.99, Virgin Wines
(as before), 14.5% alcohol Blending together grenache, syrah, carignan and cinsault grape varieties, this is a delicious, silky, luxurious red with meaty, peppery depth to the concentrated black fruits. Absolutely gorgeous.
Crozes-hermitage 2017
Northern Rhône £12, Asda,
13% alcohol
The northern Rhône is the home of the syrah grape, and this example is peppery and vivid with sleek, slightly meaty cherry and berry fruits. It’s nicely savoury and would go well with food.
Paul Jaboulet Aîné Viognier 2017 Rhône £11.99 a bottle and £8.99 each for six, Majestic, 12.5% alcohol
Here’s a bright, expressive white with a keen citrussy edge to the peach and apricot fruit, and a slightly saline finish.
This is a very attractive tipple.
Palais St Vigni Côtes du
Rhône Villages 2017
£8, Tesco, 13.5% alcohol
This is fresh and supple with mouthwatering blackberry and black cherry fruit. There’s a good balance here between the lush, sweet fruit and a peppery, meaty savouriness. It’s highly drinkable stuff.