The Winery La Croix du Ventoux of Ventoux of Rhone Valley

Marks & Spencer is no stranger to achieving top scores at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), and to celebrate its results the leading retailer has selected its favourite award-winning wines from this year’s awards, for customers to purchase exclusively on marksandspencer.com. Customers can choose from a carefully selected mix of six delicious winter-warming reds; an irresistible mix of crisp, refreshing, complex white wines from the Old and New World; a mix of both red and white wi ...

When asked which is the most exciting appellation in the Rhône, there’s one that currently springs to mind before all others: Tavel. I have to be honest with you: I don’t buy much rosé. So, given that Tavel is, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine, ‘one of France’s few all-rosé appellations,’ my response might be unexpected. The Oxford Companion is technically correct, of course – the wines made here are paler than a typical red wine. But compared to other rosés, that’s where the comparison ...

It’s easy to forget that the southern Rhône’s four most prevalent red varieties aren’t indigenous. Grenache, Carignan and Mourvèdre all appear to originate from Spain; Syrah made its way down the river from the northern Rhône. Of the long tail of other grapes, most have their roots closer to home. Plantings have dwindled in recent years, but today local varieties are experiencing renewed interest. One that’s finding a lot of fans – both in the Rhône and further afield – is Counoise. Scroll down ...