Filter
Drink:
Topics:
Terms:
Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon Cachapoal Valley Cafayate Cahors Caipirinha Caipiroska Cairanne, Côtes du Rhône Villages Rouge Calabria Calatayud Calaveras County California California Pinot Noir Calistoga Cambium Campo de Borja Canada Canaiolo Cane Canelones, Uruguay Canon-Fronsac Cantarito Cap Cap Stem Capacity Capay Valley Cape Cod Cape Winelands Caproic Acid Caprylic Acid Carbohydrate Carbon Dioxide Carbonation Carbonic Maceration Carignane Cariñena Carmel Valley Carmenère Carmignano Carneros Carneros, Napa Valley Casablanca Valley Cascade Cashmere Cask Cask Conditioned Cask Strength Casky Casse Castilla Y Leon Catawba Cava Do Cayuga Lake Cayuga White Cellar Selection Centennial Central Coast Central Otago Central Valley Central Victoria Centurion Cepages Noble Chablis Chablis Premier Cru Chalk Hill, Sonoma County Chalone Chambolle-Musigny Chambourcin Champagne Champagne Cocktail Champs-Élysées Chancellor Chaptalization Character Charbono Chardonel Chardonnay Charmat Process Charred Oak Chassagne-Montrachet Chasselas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Chehalem Mountains Chenas Chenin Blanc Chewy Chianti Chianti Classico Chianti Classico Riserva Chianti Colli Aretini Chianti Colli Fiorentini Chianti Colli Senesi Chianti DOCG Chianti Riserva DOCG Chianti Rufina Chiles Valley Chill Filtering Chill Haze Chillproofing Chinon Chinook Chiroubles Chlorophenol Chloroplasts Chocolate Malt Chocolate Martini Cicerone Cienega Valley Cigales Cinsault Cione Ciró Citra® Citrus Clairette de Die Clare Valley Claret Clarification Clarity Clarksburg Clean Clone Clos Clos de Vougeot Closed Fermentation Closed-Top Tanks Cloud Clover Club Cloying Cluster Co2 Coarse Coastal Region Cochise County, Arizona Cognac Colchagua Valley Cold Cold Climate Cold Fermentation Cold Stable Colli della Toscana Centrale IGT Colli Trevigiani Igt Colline Novaresi Collins Colloidal Haze Colombard Colorado Columbia Gorge Columbia Valley Columbus Column Still Comet Compiex Compound Bud Comte Tolosan Concord Condenser Condrieu Connecticut Continuous Fermentation Contra Costa County Contract Brewing Cooked Cool Climate Coombsville, Napa Valley Coonawarra Cooper Cooperage Cor Corbières Cordial Coriander Corinth Cork Corkage Corked Corn Corn ‘N’ Oil Cornas Corpse Reviver #2 Corton Cosmopolitan Costers del Segre Cot Cote Cote de Beaune Côte de Beaune Blanc Côte de Beaune Rouge Cote de Beaune Villages Cote de Brouilly Cote de Nuits Cote de Nuits Villages Côte de Nuits Villages "Clos du Chapeau" Coteaux d'Aix en Provence Coteaux du Languedoc Coteaux du Layon Chaume Coteaux Varois de Provence Côte-Rôtie Côtes Catalanes Igp Côtes de Bordeaux Cotes de Bourg Côtes de Duras Cotes de Gascogne Côtes de Provence Côtes du Roussillon Villages Côtes du Tarn IGP Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc Côtes-du-Rhone Rosé Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Blanc Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Rouge Coulure Counoise Courtier Craft Brewing Craft Spirits Cream Of Tartar Cream Sherry Cremant Cremant d'Alsace Cremant de Bordeaux Cremant de Bourgogne Crémant de Limoux AOC Crémant de Loire Crisp Cross Crown Cap Crozes-Hermitage Blanc Crozes-Hermitage Rouge Cru Crush Crush Tank Crust Cuba Libre Cultivar Cultured Yeast Cumberland Valley Curacao Oranges Curico Valley Custoza DOC Cutting Cuve Cuvee Cyser
Drinkipedia
Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge
The Côtes-du-Rhône, a generic appellation that covers the Rhône Valley is a name that rolls of the lips of drinkers of inexpensive French wine and will be found in any bistro or brasserie throughout the length and breadth of France. All told it is responsible for tens of millions of cases of cheap, pale colored, relatively low tannin red wine. Grenache is the grape variety most widely grown, though by itself it can be a bit anemic. Syrah and Mourvèdre are the main “improver” grape varieties used to add depth and fruit to blends, though they will not always be found in any quantity in most cheap Côtes-du-Rhônes. All of the major négociant houses present on the U.S. market produce a generic, widely blended Côtes-du-Rhône. Guigal tends to make the best example of this genre.

Fifty-four villages or communes have the right to use the appellation Cotes-du-Rhône Villages on the label. A higher proportion of Mourvèdre and Syrah, greater ripeness, and slightly lower yields are the quality factors that separate Côtes-du-Rhône from Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. A further 16 communes have the right to appendage their own names to the Côtes-du-Rhône Villages appellation. It is probably with some of these 16 that there is the best hope of relating general characteristics to specific communes—though there is much work to be done at the very least in marketing if not actually in the vineyard and winery before this has any consumer resonance. No doubt, when they succeed they will go the way of Vacqueyras and Gigondas—both former Côtes-du-Rhône Villages that now have their own appellation status.

The most significant of these village crus are listed below. They will generally produce wines with more character than base-standard Cotes-du-Rhônes.

Cairanne
Located to the northwest of Orange, Cairanne is one of the largest communes and its red wines are relatively full-bodied and gutsy. The best can age a few years.

Rasteau
Rasteau is probably the most impressive of the Côtes-du-Rhône Villages communes. A good Rasteau can often pass for a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The explanation lies with the vineyards, some of which are striking and stony in appearance, like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and as such these vineyards produce heady, powerful Grenache-based wines.

Sablet
Sablet is located northeast of Orange. As the name suggests, it is a commune with sandy soils, and that may often account for this village’s lighter colored, elegant wines, though deeply hued and rich wines can also be found.

Séguret
Red fruit and tobacco flavors are often reputed to be found in Séguret and I have certainly noted distinctive, berry-flavored wines from this commune just north of the Gigondas appellation.

Valréas
Robust and relatively more tannic wines with flavors and aromas toward the black fruit spectrum are to be found in this northerly commune. (Wine/Appellations)