Walls: Exploring Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret

When I saw the first upside-down village sign, I put it down to some bored, teenage prankster. But as I drove through one village after another on my way to Séguret, every village sign had been inverted. It transpired that this was a sign of solidarity for local farmers who feel under attack.

Their protests have since made headline news around the world, as agricultural workers have blocked roads and dumped manure in front of municipal buildings across France. There are many tangled grievances: burdensome paperwork, painful taxation, increasing energy bills, rising prices of other goods, and competition from cheap imported food and drink.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 22 Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret wines to try

Winemakers are suffering alongside other rural businesses, but they’re also facing a sustained drop in demand for red wine from their own countrymen. Young people don’t drink wine with every meal like their parents might once have done, and everyday consumption is on the wane.

As stated in a report published in February 2024 by the International Organisation for Vine and Wine, total French wine production has significantly decreased since 2000. ‘Red wine production has declined significantly both in absolute and in relative terms,’ says the report, ‘from 33.5m hectolitres in 2000 (56% of the total) to 12.2m hectolitres in 2021 (33% of the total).’

It’s a tough time to be a vigneron.

Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret: Factfile

Appellation created: 1967

Total surface area bottled in 2022: 432ha

Average yield in 2022: 35hl/ha (maximum 51hl/ha)

Production in 2022: 92% red, 3% rosé, 5% white

Permitted grape varieties:

Reds and rosés must be a blend of at least two principal varieties (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) and must include Grenache; 17 other local varieties also permitted.

Whites must contain a majority of principal varieties Bourboulenc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier; may also include Piquepoul Blanc and Ugni Blanc.

Less but better

I met up with two growers when I arrived in Séguret, who are also the co-presidents of the appellation: Mathilde Suter, fourth-generation winemaker at Domaine de l’Amandine, and Karine Mérigot, one of just five female members of the 100-strong Cave Coopérative de Roaix Séguret.

Mérigot points out that it’s not easy to name many estates these days who manage to stay afloat from selling Côtes du Rhône alone – the drop in demand in the local market has been particularly acute at the cheaper end. Fortunately, both producers own some land within Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret, one of the 22 named villages that sit just below the nine southern Rhône crus (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas etc) in the appellation hierarchy.

None of the 22 named villages are household names, but they do guarantee that the wines come from a specific village or terroir with its own local story and style. And crucially for winemakers, they fetch higher prices. Suter’s Côtes du Rhône costs €8.50 (£7.30) direct from the estate, while her Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret cuvées cost €10 (£8.55) and €13 (£11.15). Still affordable for us as consumers, but still – crucially – sustainable for them. Without this extra lift, ‘life would be hard, really hard,’ says Suter.

Different sites, different styles

One thing is clear – it’s worth trading up. Séguret is a stone’s throw from Gigondas, and like its more famous neighbour it has significant vineyards at altitude within the Dentelles de Montmirail massif, an area called ‘La Montagne’. There are also some parcels around the picturesque village of Séguret itself, and just over half its vines – ‘La Plaine’ and ‘La Première Terrasse’ – are on the flatter land at the foot of the massif towards the river Ouvèze.

There are good wines from each of the different zones, but they are stylistically quite varied. The mountain wines, made from vines grown at 400m altitude on heavy marls, tend to be stronger in character: imposing, structured, long-lived (like those from Domaine de Mourchon, Domaine Eyguestre and Domaine Chamfort). Those lower down are planted on a complex matrix of clay limestone, sand and pebbles; they aren’t so dense, but have an enjoyable vibrancy and drinkability (such as Domaine de l’Amauve, Domaine de l’Amandine and Clos du Joncuas).

The whites have all the classic richness and intense flavour you’d expect from this part of the world, and are more or less aromatic depending on how much Viognier is used. Whites and rosés are both particularly reliable for the southern Rhône, and refreshingly unembellished compared to the barrel-aged whites of Châteauneuf. Growers are busy planting more white varieties to meet the demand.

Promotion to cru level is a possible aim, but ‘the difficulty is the difference between the mountain and the plain,’ says Mérigot. It’s hard to talk about a single style of Séguret when the wines that issue from these different sectors have their own identities, despite both being delicious and valid in their own right.

Trading up

Wines from the generic Côtes du Rhône appellation have long been known as a source of great value. But there comes a point where prices become too low, and winemakers suffer as a result. Nobody wants that. There is no easy answer to the maelstrom of problems winemakers are suffering, particularly those making inexpensive reds. But as a simple cri de coeur if nothing else, I understand their need to remonstrate and bring attention to their plight.

The French appellation framework is often the target of invective – too restrictive, too slow to change. Such criticisms aren’t unfounded, but the system has its benefits too. Intermediate levels between generic wines and crus encourage growers to focus on quality, and can help them keep their heads above water at times like this. And for us, they’re a mark of inexpensive terroir wines that punch above their weight.

22 fantastic Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret wines to try

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