The Silkiest Reds of the Southern Rhone
by Tom Wolf
2022 Vin de Pays de Vaucluse Rouge “Le Pigeoulet”
France | Southern Rhône
If the Brunier family’s regal and structured Châteauneufs are best suited to a nice tablecloth, low lights, and ribeye or slow-cooked leg of lamb, their bright and juicy Pigeoulet is perfect right out of the ice bucket at your next backyard barbecue. Of course, it has that unmistakably spicy and rocky finish so evocative of the southern Rhône, but this is about as quaffable as the region’s rouges get.
2019 Côtes du Vivarais Rouge
France | Southern Rhône
Hailing from halfway between the northern and southern Rhône, this Côtes du Vivarais features equal parts of both regions’ starring grapes—Syrah and Grenache—and offers the closest thing to what you might get if you blended Crozes-Hermitage with Gigondas. With its gorgeous and lifted aromas of black pepper, briny black olive, and violets, the nose is all northern Rhône. When you take a sip, though, the freshness and elegance of Syrah are intermingled with the earthiness, herbs, and concentration of southern Rhône Grenache.
2022 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Sagesse”
France | Southern Rhône
Tasting this incredibly silky and lithe red from the famed Gramenon family, I couldn’t help but wonder how La Sagesse carries the full flavor, succulence, and savoriness we associate with Grenache on such a graceful and lively frame. Biodynamic farming and 70-year-old vines are no doubt two factors behind the finesse on display, but it also might just come down to the fact that vigneronne Michèle Aubéry-Laurent is one of the genius growers of her generation.
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