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Rhone
Wine has been produced in the Rhône Valley for over 500 years, with some of the vineyards being amongst the oldest in France. The steep valleys of the north produce small quantities of high quality, dark, powerful, spicy reds made from 100% Syrah - Hermitage and Côte Rôtie are the most famous appellations with producers such as Jaboulet, Chapoutier and Guigal producing wines that rival the very best in Bordeaux and Burgundy. The whites, produced from the Viognier grape in Condrieu and Château Grillet, and from the Marsanne and Rousanne grapes in Hermitage, are intense, full-bodied and aromatic.
The flatter, hotter, Mediterranean-influenced south contains most of the Côtes du Rhône vineyards, and accounts for around 95% of the region's total production. It is a blender's paradise with 23 grape varieties grown in total, and 13 authorised for Châteauneuf-du-Pape alone.
The Rhône has recently enjoyed an embarrassment of riches thanks to a biblical sequence of superb vintages that was appropriately brought to an end in 2002 by appalling flooding. The younger generation of winemakers have gained new confidence, maturity and knowledge during this time and are now producing exceptional wines.