The white wine styles of the northern & southern Rhône are very different.
NORTH: Condrieu and Chateau Grillet (Viognier)
Hermitage, St Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage (Marsanne/Roussanne)
Marsanne brings the fat, peachy fruit, while Roussanne provides the finesse and perfume.
Viognier style: Rich perfumed and honeyed, with nuts, musky pears and apricots.
SOUTH: CDP, Lirac & Cotes du Rhône Villages (Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc & Roussanne)
The best whites have flavours varying from apple and quince to pineapple and peach (including the nutty kernel), a touch of spice and are best drunk young.
Red wines from the Northern Rhône
Syrah is the main grape
Both Côte Rôtie and Hermitage are rich full-bodied wines, but the former emphasizes finesse and elegance a bit more. Côte Rôtie wines have marvelously fragrant aromas, often reminiscent of green olives, and soft, lush, ripe, black raspberry fruits. Hermitage is more tannic, more full bodied, and more black peppery than Côte Rôtie.
Cornas, Crozes-Hermitage and St Joseph are the other important reds of the North. Cornas is the studiest, most tannic, and long lived of the 3. It resembles the Hermitage, but Cornas is more rustic, less costly, and never develops the extraordinary bouquet or complex flavors of Hermitage. Both Crozes-Hermitage and St Joseph are medium bodied wines, and are usually the cheapest of the Northern reds. St Joseph is a rugged wine, yet chewy and sometimes peppery. It has power without grace, size without class. In good hands, Crozes-Hermiatge is less spicy and peppery, more refined than St Joseph.
Red wines from the Southern Rhône
Grenache usually forms 80 to 90 % of the final blend. It gives a wine with plenty of body, high alcohol yet low in acidity. Mourvedre 10-30%. Syrah, Cinsault, Cournoise and Vaccarese -20%
The most renowned and important red wine of the South is Châteauneuf-du-Pape. All its wines will be full in color and full in body; somewhat fiery and peppery, robust with a warm rich flavour and a broad, spicy, slightly farmyardy aroma and character. Côte du Rhône and Côte du Rhône-Villages are blended from grapes which come from two or more villages. Whereas many Côte du Rhône wines are relatively simple and fruity, meant to be drunk within 2 years, Côte du Rhône-Villages wines are usually more concentrated and complex, aging well up to 8 years. If the village name appears on the label (e.g. Cairanne or Rasteau) it indicates a single village wine of higher quality.
NORTH: Condrieu and Chateau Grillet (Viognier)
Hermitage, St Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage (Marsanne/Roussanne)
Marsanne brings the fat, peachy fruit, while Roussanne provides the finesse and perfume.
Viognier style: Rich perfumed and honeyed, with nuts, musky pears and apricots.
SOUTH: CDP, Lirac & Cotes du Rhône Villages (Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc & Roussanne)
The best whites have flavours varying from apple and quince to pineapple and peach (including the nutty kernel), a touch of spice and are best drunk young.
Red wines from the Northern Rhône
Syrah is the main grape
Both Côte Rôtie and Hermitage are rich full-bodied wines, but the former emphasizes finesse and elegance a bit more. Côte Rôtie wines have marvelously fragrant aromas, often reminiscent of green olives, and soft, lush, ripe, black raspberry fruits. Hermitage is more tannic, more full bodied, and more black peppery than Côte Rôtie.
Cornas, Crozes-Hermitage and St Joseph are the other important reds of the North. Cornas is the studiest, most tannic, and long lived of the 3. It resembles the Hermitage, but Cornas is more rustic, less costly, and never develops the extraordinary bouquet or complex flavors of Hermitage. Both Crozes-Hermitage and St Joseph are medium bodied wines, and are usually the cheapest of the Northern reds. St Joseph is a rugged wine, yet chewy and sometimes peppery. It has power without grace, size without class. In good hands, Crozes-Hermiatge is less spicy and peppery, more refined than St Joseph.
Red wines from the Southern Rhône
Grenache usually forms 80 to 90 % of the final blend. It gives a wine with plenty of body, high alcohol yet low in acidity. Mourvedre 10-30%. Syrah, Cinsault, Cournoise and Vaccarese -20%
The most renowned and important red wine of the South is Châteauneuf-du-Pape. All its wines will be full in color and full in body; somewhat fiery and peppery, robust with a warm rich flavour and a broad, spicy, slightly farmyardy aroma and character. Côte du Rhône and Côte du Rhône-Villages are blended from grapes which come from two or more villages. Whereas many Côte du Rhône wines are relatively simple and fruity, meant to be drunk within 2 years, Côte du Rhône-Villages wines are usually more concentrated and complex, aging well up to 8 years. If the village name appears on the label (e.g. Cairanne or Rasteau) it indicates a single village wine of higher quality.
GRENACHE – CHARACTER & TASTE
Provides the power and the alcohol in a blend
Grenache can easily ripen to 16 per alcohol all by itself, which is why blenders love it
Some experts consider it coarser & denser than other reds
Good Grenache has wild unexpected flavours: roasted nuts, leather, honey , gingerbread, black cherries, pepper, coffee, spices, tar & black olives. The complex aromas remind me of a Chinese medicine chest.
Young vigorous Grenache tastes of strawberries and raspberries.
MOURVÈDRE – CHARACTER & TASTE
Another high alcohol wine with dense firm tannins. It smells of hillside herbs, within a frame of blackberries with whiffs of the farmyard. With age the farmyardy, herby roughness intensifies for a few years before maturing to develop leathery, ginger and gamy flavours.
SYRAH – CHARACTER & TASTE
Young Syrah can be distinguished by its exotically scented flowers like carnations and violets, mixed with woodsmoke, pepper, plus raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants.
Côte Rôtie is even smokier, but more perfumed, than Hermitage, which is more blackcurranty, and has a centre of much succulence and richness. Some can be firm, minerally and tannic. With age, it gains gamy, leathery, almost chocolaty character, with hints of violets and tobacco.
Cornas is the darkest and most robust of all, but lacks the thrill of Hermitage.
Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph are lighter versions , more peppery, sometimes coffeeish.
COMPARISON BETWEEN NORTHERN & SOUTHERN RHÔNE RED WINES
There are lots of similar characteristics – spices, pepper, tobacco, leathery notes, gamy , tar, coffee , chocolate, black fruits – which are found in both North and South Rhône reds. However, there are some differences. The Northern Rhône reds are more floral (violets & perfumed especially the Côte Rôtie wines) in the beginning, before they develop the gamy , leathery notes when older. The Southern Rhône reds, however, are more herby and leathery to start with – and have a complex spicy nose like a Chinese Medicine chest.
Provides the power and the alcohol in a blend
Grenache can easily ripen to 16 per alcohol all by itself, which is why blenders love it
Some experts consider it coarser & denser than other reds
Good Grenache has wild unexpected flavours: roasted nuts, leather, honey , gingerbread, black cherries, pepper, coffee, spices, tar & black olives. The complex aromas remind me of a Chinese medicine chest.
Young vigorous Grenache tastes of strawberries and raspberries.
MOURVÈDRE – CHARACTER & TASTE
Another high alcohol wine with dense firm tannins. It smells of hillside herbs, within a frame of blackberries with whiffs of the farmyard. With age the farmyardy, herby roughness intensifies for a few years before maturing to develop leathery, ginger and gamy flavours.
SYRAH – CHARACTER & TASTE
Young Syrah can be distinguished by its exotically scented flowers like carnations and violets, mixed with woodsmoke, pepper, plus raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants.
Côte Rôtie is even smokier, but more perfumed, than Hermitage, which is more blackcurranty, and has a centre of much succulence and richness. Some can be firm, minerally and tannic. With age, it gains gamy, leathery, almost chocolaty character, with hints of violets and tobacco.
Cornas is the darkest and most robust of all, but lacks the thrill of Hermitage.
Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph are lighter versions , more peppery, sometimes coffeeish.
COMPARISON BETWEEN NORTHERN & SOUTHERN RHÔNE RED WINES
There are lots of similar characteristics – spices, pepper, tobacco, leathery notes, gamy , tar, coffee , chocolate, black fruits – which are found in both North and South Rhône reds. However, there are some differences. The Northern Rhône reds are more floral (violets & perfumed especially the Côte Rôtie wines) in the beginning, before they develop the gamy , leathery notes when older. The Southern Rhône reds, however, are more herby and leathery to start with – and have a complex spicy nose like a Chinese Medicine chest.