Ten of the best Rioja producers – and wines to buy
Tim Atkin MW picks 10 of his favourites...
One of the world’s most widely planted grapes, Grenache is a quintessentially Mediterranean red variety which does best as a low yielding bush vine. It produces powerful, warming, raspberryish reds whose greatest expression, from old, low-yielding vines, is to be found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Château Rayas) in France and in Australia‘s Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.
SEE ALSO: Spanish Garnacha: panel tasting results | Decanter travel guide to Southern Rhone
It also makes good fortified reds as in Banyuls, Rivesaltes and Maury. Known in Spain as Garnacha tinta, where it’s widely planted, particularly in Rioja and Priorat, it fleshes out the tempranillo. It’s grown in California and in Italy too.
Food matching with Grenache: Rolled pig’s head | Wild garlic and ricotta ravioli with lamb soup | Michel Roux Jr: Rabbit Pâté en Croute – Recipe | Michel Roux Jr: Stuffed Courgettes | Leg of Lamb Slow Cooked in Red Wine with Figs, Walnuts and Grapes
Tim Atkin MW picks 10 of his favourites...
How Priorat started making some of Spain's best reds...
Quietly building towards something special...
Can you get 10 out of 10?...
Including five vintages of rare Hommage à Jacques Perrin...
Andrew Jefford explores Vacqueyras...
Famous Rhône producer breaks new ground in Châteauneuf-du-Pape...
Why this wine is in our hall of fame...
This white variety has character in spades...
The Rhone 2015 vintage has been one of the region's earliest starts to a wine harvest, beginning on 27 August, but optimism has been building among winemakers and grape growers.
One of the most venerable estates in Provence’s Bandol appellation, Château Salettes produces a benchmark rosé, given extra depth and character by the estate’s sun-kissed Mourvèdre vines.
Is there a conflict between brand and terroir? Can you express terroir in a brand without using appellation as a primary focus? Here’s a story.
A shortage of grapes in the Spanish wine regions of Priorat and Mallorca has led to a surge in prices and is causing concern among some producers.
France is to host what is being billed as the first international competition solely for Grenache wines, to help shed light on a frequently overlooked grape variety.
A series of events worldwide are being planned to celebrate International Grenache Day tomorrow.
Grenache is now gaining a significant following – including its own day of celebration. Sarah Jane Evans MW profiles an ugly duckling transformed...
Had enough of the UK winter? Mary Dowey suggests a visit to the dramatically rugged landscapes of the southern Rhône, beautiful at any time of year
One of the world's most widely planted grapes, Grenache is a quintessentially Mediterranean red variety which does best as a low yielding bush vine. It produces powerful, warming, raspberryish reds whose greatest expression, from old, low-yielding vines, is to be found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Château Rayas) in France and in Australia's Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale.
Eighteen months ago, I was asked by two producers in the southern Rhône – Nicole Rolet of Domaine de la Verrière (which makes the Chêne Bleu brand) at Vaison-la-Romaine and Walter McKinlay of Domaine de Mourchon at Seguret – how the region’s wines could better be recognised and I agreed with the former that the key was the Grenache grape. Thus it transpired that in early June I co-chaired, with French wine critic Michel Bettane, an extraordinary three days devoted to what has been described as the unsung hero of the wine world.
Provence has long built a reputation abroad based on its summer sun rosés.
JOHN RADFORD looks at a region which has, on the brink of the 21st century, virtually reinvented itself within the last two decades