Walls: How to find value in the Rhône

Unless you’re unusually adept at managing your Christmas finances, your wine budget for January is probably looking rather depleted. I know mine is.

The Rhône is often nominated as a region that offers good value for money, and there are certain styles, appellations and producers that do indeed offer exceptional bang for your buck. Here are five tips on how to find them.

Scroll down to see 10 of Mat Walls’ top value picks

1. Named villages

Some of the biggest bargains in the world of wine can be found in the southern Rhône. There are countless family-owned wineries, some of which are hundreds of years old, making authentic wines – often organically – for under £20 a bottle.

There is one layer of the appellation hierarchy that is particularly worth exploring if you’re looking for value. Known as ‘AP Côtes du Rhône Villages with geographic name’ (or ‘named villages’ for short), this is a group of 22 villages that can append their name to the appellation, such as AP Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet.

This is the penultimate level before villages can be elevated to cru status, such as Gigondas or Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Many of these producers are therefore striving to improve quality in the hope of their appellation being promoted, but prices remain accessible.

There are interesting wines produced in all 22 named villages, but I’d put forward the following as being particularly rich hunting grounds: Laudun, Massif d’Uchaux, Sablet, Saint-Andéol, Séguret, Valréas and Visan.

2. Châteauneuf-du-Pape

It might surprise you to see the most prestigious appellation in the southern Rhône on this list, but Châteauneuf-du-Pape is also the biggest – and if you look carefully there are some outstanding wines being made without big price tags.

That being said, these wines still aren’t cheap – you’ll need to stretch to at least £35 a bottle – but I’d argue that if you buy wisely, they still offer good value compared to other wines around the world at this price level.

Names to look out for are Domaine Bois de Boursan, Famille Brunier’s Piedlong, and the entry-level cuvées from Domaine Roger Sabon, Clos St Michel, Domaine de la Solitude, Domaine Giraud, Château Jas de Bressy and Famille Perrin.

Let’s not forget the whites, too – Famille Brunier’s Clos Roquète, Domaine du Père Caboche, Château Mont-Redon and the entry-level cuvée of Domaine de la Solitude are all reliable options.

3. Satellite appellations

The appellations that surround the central Côtes du Rhône growing area can be a great source of intriguing but inexpensive wines in all colours. Some of these appellations are huge – particularly Ventoux, Costières de Nîmes and Luberon – and they can be quite mixed in quality. But they all contain some really exceptional pockets of terroir within them.

Below are some producers to explore with wines under £20 a bottle.

• In Ventoux: Domaine de Fondrèche, Château Unang, Château Pesquié, Domaine des Anges and Delas.
• In Costières de Nîmes: Château Beaubois, Château l’Ermite d’Auzan, Château Mourgues du Grès, Domaine Gassier and Terre des Chardons.
• In Luberon: Domaine de Fontenille, Marrenon, Château la Verrerie, Château Val Joanis and Château la Canorgue.

4. IGP Collines Rhodaniennes

Finding value in the northern Rhône isn’t so easy; only 6% of all AP wines produced in the Rhône Valley are from the northern Rhône. If you’re in the mood for some northern Rhône but want to avoid Hermitage prices, then consider wines labelled as IGP Collines Rhodaniennes – its growing area broadly covers the whole of the northern Rhône.

While southern Rhône producers might declassify their less favourable parcels or younger vines into AP Côtes du Rhône, the IGP Collines Rhodaniennes is usually used for the same job by northern Rhône producers, who appreciate the fact the IGP confirms the wines northerly origins. Reds are commonly pure Syrah, and whites are typically Viognier or Marsanne.

Excellent examples are made by producers such as Cave Yves Cuilleron, Domaine du Monteillet, Domaine François Merlin, Domaine Georges Vernay, Domaine Jasmin, Domaine Rostaing, Domaine Verzier, François Villard, Jean-Michel Gerin, M Chapoutier.

5. St-Péray

The northern Rhône’s most southerly appellation is also its least known: little St-Péray, which makes still white wines from Marsanne and/or Roussanne (and even a little sparkling). It’s had a run of impressive vintages, yet prices remain fair.

If you haven’t tried it, imagine a fresh but slightly softer version of white St-Joseph. There are plenty of good options under £30, including wines from Cave de Tain, Domaine Alain Voge, Domaine Franck Balthazar, Domaine Guy Farge, Domaine Johann Michel, Domaine Laurent Fayolle, Jean-Luc Colombo and particularly M Chapoutier’s new cuvée, Haut Chamblard.

10 of Matt Walls’ top value picks

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