Crozes Hermitage

This is the first of the big appellations as you head south. With some 1,800 hectares under vine on the east flank of the Rhône & the majestic Hermitage hill in the background, it can produce wines of great quality and wines for quaffing too. It is impossible to define a blanket style here: the wines from the north, with more elevation and a higher proportion of the granite, tend to be a little more lithe, angular or mineral.

As you move further south & east where the granite is less obvious and the alluvial soils and clay start to have an influence, you’ll find underrated whites and brighter, more exuberant reds, juicy even. This is excellent hunting ground for good value wines that perhaps, whilst not as stylish or long-term as the north, certainly give great joy.