Côtes du Rhône

Why is Côtes du Rhône wine just so damn popular? Well apart from being some of the oldest vineyards in history, planted when the Rhône was being used as a highway through France by the Romans, winemakers there have learnt how to cultivate over 21 well balanced grape varieties that can go into their blends. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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E.Guigal is one of the region's most recognised wineries, who are now in their third generation of winemakers. They have vineyards all over the Côtes du Rhône which allows them to make AOC wines (like the one I have here), all the way through to seriously bold Cru varieties. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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Syrah is the champion in this blend, giving body, structure and spice balanced with Grenache and Mourvedre  which give a jammy, fruity hit. A fruity wine full of black cherry, blackberry, strawberry, pepper, vanilla and soil. A full body with high alcohol and tannin. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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I did a virtual tasting on the Rhône valley, where we had this bottle alongside a Côtes du Rhône blanc, which you can buy here, offering rich peach and apricot with a little acidity and oily mouthfeel. We paired both wines with our respective charcuterie boards, cheese boards and dark chocolate.