French Rhone Blend

The importer Boutinot makes a lot of their own wines, including this one from old-vine Grenache discovered growing down south between Corbieres and the Sea. Done all in steel, it’s dark, gutsy, powerful and a bit wild, with... Read More

A gutsy, peppery, Languedoc red that’s great for fireside sipping and matching up with hearty stews and roasts. It’s roughly equal parts Carignan and Syrah plus around 20% Mourvedre and 10% Picpoul Noir, all from vines... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV There is Provençal rosé and then there is Palette. Even back in 1948, the limestone soils in a small enclave just south of Aix-en-Provence were clearly different from the rest of the region,... Read More

Thierry Sabon makes old-school wines, ones that emphasize the earthier, meatier, side of the Southern Rhone. Here his Grenache (65%), Syrah, Mouvedre and Cinsault red from the sandy soils of Lirac pumps out plenty of rich black... Read More

Chateauneuf du Pape, the greatest red of France’s Southern Rhone Valley, can be a bit TOO “great” – too rich, too alcoholic and too expensive. Not here, where a gutsy 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah delivers... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV A blend of 60% Viognier, 25% Roussanne, 10% Clairette and 5% Bourboulenc, all planted by Vincent Boyer about 15 years ago and farmed organically. The ripe fruit is harvested in the early morning cool and... Read More

Organic/Bio The little village of Visan in the middle of the Cotes du Rhone always seems to give wines with a sleek black fruit and a hint of something we might call “ink” (but in a good way – really!). The blend... Read More

Organic/Bio The kind of wine we often call “cheerful.” There’s plenty of substance to the ripe red cherry and redcurrant fruit and a whiff of the wild herb and black olive notes the French call “garigue.”... Read More

Organic/Bio A powerful blend of equal parts Syrah and Grenache from Lirac, just across the Rhone River to the south of Chateauneuf du Pape. There’s always plenty of rich fruit and gamey complexity here along with, in the... Read More

Rich raspberry and blueberry fruit with a touch of spice from judicious use of whole clusters and just a wee bit of French oak (15% of the cuvee aged in 2nd use barrels; the rest in concrete and steel). With air, a bit of tapenade... Read More

Sisters Delphine, Roseline and Cendrine Faraud make just one wine, this ultra-traditional Gigondas from one vineyard of 40-70 year-old Grenache (about 75%), Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre. Plenty of Southern Rhone fruit here –... Read More

Lower ABV On first taste, my thoughts: It's like Gamay and Cabernet Franc had a baby. Then, Maybe more like Mencia and Carmenere? Then, What a fabulous bistro red! Turns out all of those thoughts apply. The grape here is Fer... Read More

Organic/Bio Just a really good, all-purpose, house red here with an easy-access screwtop closure and easy on the wallet savings price. The quality here is unsurprising, because the Jaume family consistently puts their name on... Read More

Organic/Bio Over the years, wine Robert Parker has called the Cotes du Rhone Champauvins a baby Chateauneuf du Pape, a poor person's Chateauneuf, and a serious effort that could easily be mistaken for a Chateauneuf du Pape.... Read More

Organic/Bio We could go on and on about how the soils here are identical to Chateauneuf du Pape across the river, how the Jaume family farms their vines organically and to very low yields, and how that use a blend of concrete... Read More

Organic/Bio For the second straight vintage, this is 100% a Cotes du Rhone in guts, volume, and amplitude plus something you seldom see in Southern Rhone reds: freshness. Jean T'Kint only makes one wine, this blend of mostly... Read More

If there were a prize for most consistently delicious red wine under $20 in the world...well, here's your winner!

Organic/Bio Kermit Lynch seems to be in the mood to have some fun with this wine he made to recall the kind of casual, all-purpose, easygoing, pre-climate-change, Cotes du Rhones of the 1970s and 1980s. It’s 56% Grenache,... Read More

The only thing special about this Cotes du Rhone is how much fun it is to drink. It's Grenache and Syrah done in tank by the Les Vignobles Foncalieu co-op, one of the biggest in France with 1,000+ growers and 20 appellations.... Read More

Organic/Bio Although tagged with a humble “Vin de Pays” appellation, Eric Bouletin’s Pichot Roucas is really a wonderfully soulful and delicious Cotes du Rhone made from declassified Vacqueyras and juice from... Read More