Walls: exploring the three Vs of the Southern Rhône

Largely unknown outside of the Rhône; Valréas, Visan and Vinsobres (and Saint-Maurice) are quality appellations hidden away in the northern reaches of the Southern Rhône. Matt Walls reports from the region and tastes 22 wines discovering edgy tannins and brisk acidity, but also elegance and drinkability.

By Matt Walls

last updated 24 August 2021

in Tastings

The village of Visan

(Image credit: Matt Walls)

Tucked up into the northern reaches of the Southern Rhône is a vast massif that’s home to the three Vs: Valréas, Visan and Vinsobres. (And we mustn’t forget little Saint-Maurice, alliteratively inconvenient though it is.)

These names remain largely unknown outside the region, but Rhône lovers should certainly make a visit – even if your pilgrimage takes you only as far as the local wine shop.

This mound of marl, let’s call it the Visan-Valréas hills, rises up on the north bank of the Aygues river. Its waters burst from the mountains that mark the natural eastern boundary of the Southern Rhône at the town of Nyons.

From here, the river meanders its way along the foot of the hill, past countless vineyards, before it eventually joins the Rhône itself near Orange.

These four appellations produce two stylistic pairs: Vinsobres and Saint-Maurice on the one hand, and Visan and Valréas on the other.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for a selection of 22 Valréas, Visan, Vinsobres and Saint-Maurice wines

Vinsobres and Saint-Maurice

Vinsobres is close to Nyons, towards the east of the massif, and is the most northerly of the nine Southern Rhône crus. This northern position is one source of its innate freshness; another is its high-altitude vineyards, up to 450m.

Plantings here are around two-thirds Grenache and one-third Syrah. That’s a lot of Syrah for the Southern Rhône, which makes for a tense style of wine, dark in the glass, with edgy tannins and brisk acidity.

Another key to the freshness at this eastern half of the hill is the Pontias. A cold alpine wind that chases the Aygues out of the mountains, it cools the vineyards at night.

The effects of this wind are mostly felt in Vinsobres. It also reaches its neighbouring appellation, Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages Saint-Maurice, which is sandwiched between Vinsobres and Visan.

Apart from the local cave co-operative, there are just two other producers remaining here. They are, however, both exceptional: Domaine Chaume-Arnaud and Domaine la Florane.

The similarities between Vinsobres and Saint-Maurice extend beyond just taste. They are ‘geologically exactly the same terroir’, says Adrien Fabre of Domaine la Florane. He says the soils here contain much more active limestone and iron oxide than Visan and Valréas, and the earth is noticeably redder in Vinsobres compared to the yellow marls of Visan and Valréas.

Visan and Valréas

Visan inhabits the western flank of the hill, and Valréas its summit and north-facing slope. As Vinsobres and Saint-Maurice are one set of twins, Visan and Valréas are another.

Isa Sourdon of Domaine des Lauribert makes wine in both appellations, and says that both Visan and Valréas have rather similar clay limestone soils.

‘Here the north wind, the Mistral, is more important than the Pontias’, she adds.

The style here is softer, more generous and red-fruited than Vinsobres. It is certainly not as powerful and imposing as wines such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Vacqueyras further south. The best wines of Visan and Valréas combine elegance with an easy-going drinkability.

If there is a difference between Visan and Valréas, perhaps Valréas gains a little fresh acidity in its north-facing vineyards. But it’s also less consistent; Valréas is a more extensive appellation, encompassing some less interesting flat lands to the north.

The three Vs of the Southern Rhône are relatively remote, so it takes an intrepid wine lover to make the journey. But wines grown on slopes are always worth exploring.

See Matt Walls’ selection of 22 Valréas, Visan, Vinsobres and Saint-Maurice wines:

Wines are listed in score order by colour

Rhône producer to know: Domaine Chaume-Arnaud, Vinsobres

Southern Rhône white wines

Cornas 2018 in bottle: full overview

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Matt Walls is an award-winning freelance wine writer and consultant, contributing regular articles to various print and online titles including Decanter, where he is a contributing editor. He has particular interest in the Rhône Valley; he is chair of the Rhône panel at the Decanter World Wine Awards and is the owner of travel and events company www.rhoneroots.com.

Walls: exploring the three Vs of the Southern Rhône