Know your étiquette: Côtes-du-Rhône Villages

The Rhône Valley is home to some of France’s most important appellation contrôlée wines, both in terms of prestige (think northern Syrah crus such as Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage, and southern Grenache-based crus such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape) and production.

Côtes-du-Rhône can be a little uneven in quality, but find a good one and you’re onto a winner in terms of value and drinkability.

Australian drinkers are au fait with the concept thanks to the rich heritage here of Shiraz and so-called GSM blends, as well as the current strides we’re enjoying with stupendous varietal Grenache.

Côte-du-Rhône Villages is an appellation d’origine contrôlée that covers 95 villages across the four southern Rhône départements of Ardèche, Drôme, Gard and Vaucluse.

Here we take a Rhône overview with the help of a tasty Côte-du-Rhône Villages wine from one of the region’s icons, Paul Jaboulet Aîné.