I always tend to drink more southern Rhône reds at this time of year. This one caught my eye at the recent Sainsbury’s press tasting, partly because it was every bit as good as the supermarket’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which retails at nearly twice the price. Syrah based – unusual in this part of France – with 22% Grenache and 4% Carignan – it has aromas of tapenade and mountain herbs, a palate of mulberry and blackberry and impressive texture, grip and palate weight. Perfect with a winter stew.
Red Varietal: Carignan
2022 Domaine de la Rectorie Côté Montagne, Collioure, Roussillon
( £25, 15%, The Wine Society )Collioure is one of the most beautiful towns in the Roussillon region of southern France, as well as the source of this stunning cuvée of Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache and 10% each of Carignan and Counoise. Quintessentially Mediterranean, it’s a blend that carries its 15% alcohol lightly, with enticing aromas of tapenade and rosemary, brooding blackberry and black olive flavours, sinewy tannins and effortless concentration. The perfect winter red.
2024 Arbousset Tavel Rosé, Rhône Valley
( £13, 13.5%, Tesco )Tavel tends to make rosés that appeal to red rather than white wine lovers. As such, they are richer, denser and fuller-bodied than the much paler Côtes de Provence style. This wine from Domaine d’Arbousset is a case in point, a serious, savoury, richly coloured cuvée of mostly Grenache with lesser amounts of Cinsault, Carignan and Syrah. Wild strawberry, hibiscus and rooibos tea flavours are framed by subtle tannins and racy acidity.
2023 Mythral Côtes de Provence Rosé, Provence
( £11.99, 12.5%, Majestic )Good value by the standards of some Provence rosés – surely one of the most profitable wine styles in the world – this is an appealingly packaged, lip-smacking pink from Les Grands Chais de France. Based on Grenache, with the remaining 40% made up of six other red and white grapes, it has good focus and intensity, redcurrant, watermelon and rosehip flavours and a refreshing, chalky finish.
2019 Tesco Finest Saint-Chinian, Languedoc
( £9, 13.5%, Tesco )As well as being a beautiful place to visit, Saint-Chinian is one of the most exciting appellations in the south of France. This is an unoaked SGCM blend of Syrah with 35% Grenache, 15% Carignan and 5% Mourvèdre that shows the freshness and grip of the local schist and limestone soils, classic “garrigue” aromas of rosemary, thyme and lavender, supple tannins and layers of blackberry and black olive.
2017 Château des Estanilles Vallongue, Faugères
( £14.95, 14%, Yapp Brothers )Faugères is one of the Languedoc’s great secrets, a small appellation that deserves to be much better known. Julien Seydoux makes this superb organic red from a blend of Syrah with 35% Grenache, 15% Carignan and 5% Mourvèdre, ageing the result in large wooden foudres and stainless steel tanks. Named after a local stream, it’s appeallingly subtle, floral and refined, with notes of pine and lavender, sweet bramble and red berry fruit, sinewy tannins and a long, mineral-edged finish. Perfect winter drinking.
2018 Domaine des Tourelles Vieilles Vignes Carignan, Bekaa Valley
( £21, 14% )Domaine des Tourelles might not be as famous as Château Musar, at least outside Lebanon, but its wines are every bit as good, albeit in a less quirky style. French-educated Faouzi Issa sourced this intense Carignan from old-vine, organically farmed parcels in the Bekaa Valley, making a wine that is plush, concentrated and unoaked. Carignan can be a slightly rustic grape, but that’s not the case here. Wild herb aromas segue into a palate of raspberry and black cherry fruit, complemented by the freshness of a vineyard at 1,000 metres.
2015 Domaine Saint Amant, Beaumes-de-Venise Grangeneuve, Rhône Valley
( £15.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )Beaumes de Venise is still more famous for its fortified Muscats, but canny buyers have always known that if you pick the right wine, the appellation can offer red wines that rival top Châteauneuf-du-Pape at half the price or less. This cuvée of Grenache with 30% Syrah and 10% each of Carignan and Viognier comes from a 50-year-old parcel at 500 metres above the village of Suzette and is wonderfully dense, rich and savoury, showing considerable concentration and weight, flavours of garrigue, black plum and violet and a full-bodied finish. It’s certainly drinkable now, but will reward further cellaring.
2015 Boutinot Les Six, Cairanne, Rhône Valley
( £12.99, 14.5%, D. Byrne )Made with six different varieties – nothing compared with Châteuneuf-du-Pape’s 14, but still quite a large number – this is a superb, modern, Grenache-dominated Cairanne, which carries its comparatlvely high alcohol lightly, thanks to the structure and acidity of the 2015 vintage. Spicy tapenade and wild herb aromas segue into a smooth, deftly oaked palate with very fine tannins and a core of sweet, tarry blackberry and blueberry fruit. Outstanding value.
2014 Koyle Cerro Basalto, Los Lingues, Colchagua Valley
( £17, 14, The Wine Society )Grown on basalt soils identified as ideal by the French terroir consultant, Claude Bourguignon, for Mediterranean grapes, this is a stunning blend of mostly Mourvèdre with Grenache, Carignan and Syrah. Liquorice, damson, tapenade and blackberry flavours are embellished by bright acidity, savoury, grippy tannins and just a hint of oak.
2015 Rojalet Negre, Montsant
( £7.99, 13.5, Majestic )Montsant is not as famous as neighbouring Priorat, but generally offers much better value. Blending Garnacha and Carignan, this isn’t short of alcohol (we’re close to the Med after all), but it has plenty of spice, plum and bramble fruit concentration and stony minerality for balance. In summer, it would make a great barbecue red. Right now, try it with winter stew.
Rethinking wine: back to the future?
by Henry Jeffreys
It might surprise you to learn that London had a fleet of electric taxis in the late 19th century. They were known as hummingbirds because of the noise they made....