Two rivers flow through Lyons. When you say that you do not necessarily think of the Rhône and Saône, but rather of the two wines, Côtes du Rhône and Beaujolais.
From Roanne to Mâcon, in the regions Rhône and Saône et Loire, there is produced the most famous wine in the world: Beaujolais. Made famous by some French journalists in the 50’s, this wine gained notoriety thanks to its “primeur nouveau” ( the wine newly produced from the year’s grape harvest). In other words the beaujolais nouveau is tasted the world over on the third Thursday in November. It is a fruity, fresh wine. It is to be drunk in the three months after buying it. Some years it has a taste of banana, others a taste of raspberry, but contrary to what some spiteful tongues might say, this taste has not been added. It is a wine that is to be drunk cooled to 13°.
Les Côtes du Rhône du Septentrion (the hillside vines in the Northern part of the Rhône), stretch over a distance of 143 kilometres along the Rhône from Vienne to Valence.
Château-Grillet, Saint-Perret, Saint-Joseph, Hermitage, Crozes Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Cornas and Condrieu are the eight wines on this wine trail.
The rules and regulations of the A.O.C. allows the use of 21 different vines.
Some are used as the main one ( Syra, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Clairette) others as a secondary one ( Cinsault, Carignan, Counoise, Picpoul...)
In the Northern part of the vineyard, the planting of vines is often of one variety. The temperate and regular climate allow the fruit to ripen without over-ripening to yield their specific characteristics.
Everything about...
The wines from the Beaujolais region
Les Côtes du Rhône du Septentrion
