The Winery Laurent Chomat of Rhône septentrional of Rhone Valley

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 ...

Colin Hay, a professor of political economy with a special interest in the Place de Bordeaux, considers the different ways of approaching en primeur purchasing, ahead of this year’s 2021 campaign. Buying en primeur wines is a rather strange and, arguably, arcane system of buying and selling in which the consumer purchases the wine typically in the early summer following the vintage even though it will not be bottled and delivered for a further 12-18 months. It is, in effect, a futures mark ...

Like many teenagers, I was obsessed with movies when I was growing up. When I see original posters today for films I enjoyed back then, the effect is immediate – a glance somehow conjures the story, the characters and the emotional impact all at once. Today, wine labels can have a similar effect. And what more iconic labels are there in the Rhône than Guigal’s single vineyard Côte-Rôties? When I see the red and gold label of La Mouline, it has the same effect as when I’m confronted with the post ...