The Rhone Valley

Many wine drinkers will declare Shiraz as one of their favourite red grape varieties, but few associate the variety with its home in the Rhone Valley where it is known as Syrah.

To be precise, the northern Rhone is the true home of Syrah where the red wines are almost exclusively made from this variety. Here the wines are charcterised by the peppery spice and most notably the smooth, silky tannins that can give superb length to the wines. The famous names of St Joseph, Hermitage and Crozes Hermitage are fine examples of Syrah at its best.

If the northern Rhone is relatively simple to understand, then the southern Rhone region is much more complicated. Here Syrah is an important variety but Grenache is the most prevalent, with Mouvedre and Carignan also widespread together with several other varieties in the blends.

The region is also classified by area and quality. Cotes du Rhone is the first level, followed by Cotes du Rhone Village with the most famous appelations being Gigondas, Vacqueras and Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

One of the producers we have teamed up with in the Rhone is Paul Jaboulet. For some time we have listed the excellent Crozes Hermitage 'Les Jalets'. Les Jalets is old French for the pebbles left by Alpine glaciers. The wines has intense aromas of Autumn berries with elegant smooth tannins whlist retaining the slight rustic edge that identifies it as Crozes Hermitage terroir.

From the southern Rhone the Petit Jaboulet is 100% Syrah classified as Vins de Pay, offering excellent value at £6.99. We have also added two new Jaboulet wines from the Cotes du Rhone - Paralelle 45. The white wine is a blend of Grenache Blanc and Viognier showing wonderful aromas with a well balanced rich yet crisp palate. The red has great fleshy, ripe berry fruit and good length. These two wines are a great addition to our Rhone range and at £8.99 represent excellent value.