The Cave La Gamme of Rhône méridional of Rhone Valley

After years of rumour that Moët-Hennessy, part of the LVMH luxury goods group, was buying Château Minuty – and years of denial – the sale was officially announced on the final day of Wine Paris on Wednesday 15 February, creating a ripple of gossip, speculation and discussion around the fair. Throughout France, and even globally, Minuty has long been seen as the ultimate expression of Provence rosé. It’s thanks to Minuty’s success that many producers outside of Provence have emulated its style. C ...

In the UK wine calendar, wine merchants concentrate on selling certain regions at the same time every year. For Burgundy, it’s January; Bordeaux starts in April. Others, like the Rhône, aren’t quite so specific, but merchants do seem to agree that autumn is the right time to turn their attention to this part of France. Following a number of Rhône-focused tastings, and with my full report on the 2021s coming out soon, I have tasted and rated wines that are available to buy in the UK now and my re ...

You don’t need a state-of-the-art winery to make wine. You don’t need rows of pristine oak barrels. One thing you do need to make good wine is good vines. Have you ever asked yourself where all these vines come from? How do they find their way into the ground? It used to be easy. In the past, winemakers simply took cuttings from their vineyards, propagated them, and planted them in the ground. But phylloxera put a stop to that. What was a simple process acquired layers of complexity: winemakers ...