Winery Villedieu BuissonCoste Libre Rouge

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 ...

Severe frost in early April wreaked havoc across both the northern and southern appellations of the Rhône Valley in 2021, with many producers losing a large majority of their crop. The reds that did materialise tend towards lean, green flavours, because grapes struggled to ripen. A few producers struck lucky, with late-budding varieties or pockets of vineyard less affected by frost. But overall, it is the whites that really shine, showing freshness, precision and longevity. St-Joseph, Vacqueyras ...

In the first part of this series, see the wines that the Decanter editorial team is most excited about tasting at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC on Saturday 18th June 2022. Amy Wislocki – Decanter Magazine Editor Cape Landing Blackwood Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River 2019 At the end of every year at Decanter, we organise a ‘Wines of the Year‘ tasting. We ask our key contributors and editorial staff to pick out the wines that most impressed them during the year just gon ...