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What is the difference between the wines of the Northern Rhône Valley and the Southern Rhône?
The Rhône Valley is divided into two major zones separated by about fifty kilometres, with their wines having very little in common. The Northern Rhône, with its terraced vineyards on steep granitic soils, produces elegant, complex wines that are often very well-suited to ageing — Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage and Saint-Joseph are its finest examples. The Southern Rhône, meanwhile, benefits from a distinctly Mediterranean climate, varied soils (rounded pebbles, clay-limestone, sands), and iconic appellations such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras. The wines there are generally more generous, rounder and more approachable when young.
