Blandford Comptoir

The Vineyards of Condrieu and Château Grillet are nestled between Côte-Rôtie to the North and Saint-Joseph to the south. Those two appellations, where only white wine can be made, produce wines from one and only grape variety, the Viognier. Here it grows on "Chaillees" which are small terrasses first built during Roman times to enable to cultivate vines on such steep slopes. Further South, Marsanne and Roussanne wines are fruit driven, luscious, spicy with their rich display of fresh, sweet, tropical, citrus, honeysuckle, orange and exotic fruit and spice notes

The village of Ampuis is at the centre of the appellation, on a flat land close to the river. From the heart of Ampuis, the schist runs north and the gneiss goes south. There is some granite here too, at the southern tip of the appellation at the border with Condrieu. Wines were certainly produced here in Roman times. Côte-Rôtie translates as 'roasted slope' where Syrah is King

The northern lieux-dits like Côte Brune (and the famed sub-parcel la Turque), La Landonne, Rozier, Viallière and Grandes Places tend to produce more tannic, slow-to-mature Côte Rôties. The great central sites-like Côte Blonde and La Mouline-produce wines of more pronounced delicacy and elegance

Hermitage has traditionally been celebrated as one of France's most glorious wines. The town of Tain l'Hermitage lies near the narrow riverbank at the foot of the hill of Hermitage. Syrah is the only red grape planted, each climat is subtly unique in terms of soil type, exposition and altitude . The lightest, most aromatic wines come from the higher parcels of L'Hermite and Beaume next to the little chapel on top of the hill that gave the name to Jaboulet's famous flagship, La Chapelle. The elegant and aromatic ones come from Gréffieux, while the rich and powerful wines are from Le Méal

Crozes-Hermitage is the largest of all the northern appellations of Côtes-du-Rhône. The vineyards lay around Hermitage, where the soil is richer and easier to work with. In the north, vineyards are rooted in the granite hillsides following on from the much-lauded Hermitage hill. In the south, the history of the river is mirrored in the soil types with their glaciofluvial deposits or Rhône pebbles. In an appellation that may seem complex in its diversity, Syrah is the common thread and the only grape variety used for red Crozes-Hermitage wines. The whites are made from the complementary grape varieties Marsanne and Roussanne that offer freshness and delicate floral aromas

Cornas is a collection of vineyards on steep hills that loom just to the west of the village itself, which sits directly on the Rhône River. In the centre, just west of the village, you have soils rich in granite and steep vineyards that are perfectly oriented to the southeast. This is where you find the most famous sites, Reynard and Chaillot. From the middle, you can head north, towards St. Joseph. A good degree warmer than Côte-Rôtie, and with steep slopes that allow the vines to get all the sunshine while enjoying shelter from the wind, Syrah ripens more easily here than anywhere else in the Northern Rhone. Thus, its vines ripen earliest, around a week before Hermitage, across the river. These wines tend to be the darkest and richest, the gutsiest and the meatiest, of the Northern Rhône's

Saint-Joseph is a 50-kilometre-long shoelace of an appellation that dangles down the west bank of the Rhône with light granitic soils of shale and gneiss that are planted with Syrah grapes for red, Marsanne and Roussanne for whites. The red Saint-Joseph is an elegant and refined wine that will develop power and richness. It's characterized by aromas of cassis and raspberry, although liquorice and leather notes can be found after a few years of aging. The white Saint-Joseph is defined by notes of acacia, honey, and apricot that go perfectly with fish and seafood. It's impossible to talk about Saint-Joseph as an appellation. It's very spread-out from north to south…No-one can say what Saint-Joseph is - Jean-Louis Chave

The Legend tells that in 1321, under the reign of Pope Jean XXII, four barrels were bought from the papal cellar to be filled with wine in Châteauneuf. Then, the Popes planted new vines and the legend of the papal wine began. The first evidence of Château de Beaucastel as it exists today comes from the 16th century, when Pierre de Beaucastel bought a barn with an adjoining plot of land, upon which he built a manor house. Beaucastel is one of only three estates in the region to plant and vinify all 13 grape varieties permitted under Châteauneuf du Pape appellation regulations, and it's this patchwork make-up of the Beaucastel red that gives it its structured and intense yet lean taste. A large percentage of Mourvedre (about 30%) creates the backbone, while Grenache (30%) contributes a warming, velvety mouthfeel. Syrah, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Counoise, Picpoul and Cinsault add colour, freshness and spicy aromas

The dominant grape is the versatile Grenache, complemented by Syrah in cooler and higher terrains and Mourvèdre in some of the warmer ones. Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are produced in a wide and diverse array of styles, they share the common characteristics of fresh red and black cherries, strawberry, kirsch, black pepper, spice, earth and garrigue, which is the fresh herbs typical of the region. The textures can be lush and luscious when young and take on silky characteristics with age