Get to know the neighbours in Rhône

What wine offers the best value? It certainly isn’t the cheapest, where producer, importer and retailer fight it out to make a couple of cents and still offer something drinkable. But drinkable is the summit of their ambitions.

Occasionally circumstances (such as a glut of wine or a producer needing to offload stock quickly) will allow good wine to be sold cheaply.

Sometimes a supermarket will sell wine at below cost to entice customers into their shops. But otherwise you tend to get what you pay for.

However, there is one occasion where quality doesn’t always follow price. Wines from the best-known regions in every country, be it Bordeaux, Barolo or Barossa, can charge a premium for their wines. Sometimes it is justified by the quality of the wine, but often you are simply paying for the name. The converse is also true; wines from less famous areas tend to offer better value.

With Rhône Week coming up (November 3rd-8th, see Rhoneweekireland.com for details), we take a look at where the best value lies in this part of the world. The two big names are Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the south and Hermitage in the north.

Both produce exquisite wines. The problem is the very best wines from either will cost over €100. The problem with Hermitage is one of size – it is a tiny appellation and the whole world knows about it.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape produces far more wine but, alongside the great wines you will find a host of very average, yet still very expensive wine, possibly the worst value of all.

With both appellations, if for different reasons, the canny buyer will look at their neighbours. This week, the alternative to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, next week affordable Hermitage.

I remember my first visit to Gigondas. It was a wonderful crisp, cold sunny January morning. We drove slowly up a steep slope along a very narrow windy road to arrive at the edge of the village, looking out over a parapet.

In the clear skies, the view down over the surrounding countryside was breathtaking. Behind us was a small shop run by the local growers. They had come up with an ingenuous idea of offering, for a few cents (or more likely francs, this was a while ago), a taste of any wine you wanted.

I was working as a wine buyer at the time. We sampled our way through two dozen wines and then paid a visit to the top three or four producers. That way we managed to “do” Gigondas in a morning!

Later, with a little time on our hands, we wandered through the narrow streets of the village, and up the steep slopes to the Dentelles (teeth) de Montmiral to marvel still further at the view out over the valley. I have returned several times since and enjoyed great traditional food in the restaurant right beside the same shop.

Recognition came late to Gigondas. Viticulture dates to Roman times, but until the mid-1950s it was known for its olives rather than grapes. Any wine produced was often taken further north to beef up the wines of Burgundy.

Then the severe frost of 1956 killed the majority of olive trees and the farmers decided that vines were a more reliable source of income.

Gigondas shares the same building blocks as Châteauneuf-du-Pape – Grenache with varying additions of Mourvèdre and/or Syrah and Cinsault.

As a wine it will never be described as delicate – it is always big, powerful and substantial: a warm hug on a winter’s day.

Compared to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it sometimes seems to have a wild touch, firmer tannins and more substance. But the wines share a powerful meaty quality as well as a spiciness.

The two towns lie a dozen kilometres apart, with Vacqueyras in between. All three make up a fairly robust front row of wines.

Good Gigondas is not cheap, but it sells for 20-40 per cent less than a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The difference in price is possibly not quite as big as it once was, and producers such as Château de Saint Cosme make some seriously expensive special cuvées. But a very good Gigondas still costs roughly the same as a very average Châteauneuf. It performs best with robust fare: roast game or beef, meaty casseroles and firm cheeses. There are those that argue in favour of smelly Bries and Camembert but I am less convinced. However, with the cold nights drawing in, I shall certainly enjoy a few bottles.

jwilson@irishtimes.com