The castle of Suze-la-Rousse dominates the village below. This is no fairy-tale chateau – it’s an imposing fortified stone edifice constructed on a rocky promontory. Climb to the top of one of its turrets and you can see the green vineyards sweeping in every direction across the valley below.

In the 12th century it was owned by the Princes of Orange, but since 1978 it has been home to the internationally renowned Université du Vin, where students come from all over France to learn every aspect of wine production and business. They also get to enjoy – and contribute to – the beautiful local wines.

This Named Village of the Drôme only makes reds, using Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and often a healthy proportion of robust Carignan. The low-lying vineyards are made of ancient riverbeds and are drenched in sunlight and fanned by the mistral wind, producing concentrated, bold wines that could accompany any royal banquet. They bring to mind the castle itself; strong and sturdy, but executed with peerless craftsmanship, and an eye for detail.

Discover the vineyards

If the Rhône Valley is famous for any type of soil, it would have to be the smooth, oval river stones known as galets roulés that crop up all over the Côtes du Rhône.
Signargues is the furthest south of all the Named Villages on the west bank of the Rhône, and its vineyards are covered in them – in places you can dig for over a metre until you get to the clay and sand below. There’s no village called Signargues on the map. the name refers to the blood shed during the various invasions of history.

This area subjected to the raging gusts of the Mistral is above all the kingdom of red wines.
The Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault come together to make muscular wines of rare concentration and power, even for the Rhône. These are deeply flavoursome wines, with aromas of blackberries and dried Provençal herbs.

These galets roulés have been known for centuries to deliver wines with great density and strength, but with a savoury edge. If you’re looking for an elemental wine, look to Signargues – the blood of the stones.

The Dentelles de Montmirail are one of the most striking natural features of the Côtes du Rhône, a mountainous outcrop near Mont Ventoux decorated with limestone crenelations encircled by birds of prey. The village of Séguret sits at its foot, one of the prettiest villages in France. Naturally protected by the hillside it inhabits, its name comes from the Provençal word for ‘safe’.
This is one of the largest Named Villages, with some vineyards surrounding the village itself, others flowing down the hillside to the river below, and more vines that scale the mountainside, up among the Dentelles themselves. Each area contributes something different to the blend.

The lower terrace brings concentration, the sands around the village bring finesse, and the mountain terroir delivers freshness.
The result is an array of beautifully balanced red wines of admirable vibrancy, and impressive longevity. Their rosés are also highly prized – they make more than any other Named Village. They make just as much white in fact, both of which manage tocombine freshness with intensity of flavour.

Whatever the colour, if Séguret is on the wine list, you know you’re in safe hands.

Discover the vineyards

The first Named Village was minted in 1967. The rules were a little different back then. Originally, a whole village and all of its surrounding land might be included in the appellation, but today, a specific vine-growing terroir is what marks out the boundaries. That’s certainly the case with Sainte-Cécile, one of the newest of the 22 Named Villages, officially recognized in 2016.

Rather than simply encompassing the vineyards of the village of Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, the denomination of Sainte-Cécile includes vineyards from five adjacent villages in the heart of the Côtes du Rhône: Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Sérignan-du-Comtat, Suze-la-Rousse, Travaillan and Tulette.

The southern part (known as the garrigue), is a large flat alluvial terrace, with brown marl sandwiched between the sandstone beneath and plentiful alluvial pebbles above. The northern terrace is more recently deposited, smaller in size, marginally lower in altitude, and has white marl close to the surface instead of brown.
The clay and marls gradually release any stored water, which is hugely beneficial in this sunny, dry, drought-prone terroir. Grenache and Syrah grow well here, and winemakers plant plentiful Mourvèdre, which adds substance and complexity to the blend.

The result is deep, smooth red wines from this grapevine paradise.

Vines have been grown in the village of Saint- Pantaléon for centuries. To emphasise their bond with viticulture, the local authorities voted to add the words “Les Vignes” to the name of the village.

To find the village, head for Drôme Provençale, where lavender and olive trees mingle; the vineyards – just 400 hectares of them – are planted at the foot of the Montagne de la Lance, protected from wind and west-facing to catch the last rays of the setting sun. 
Grapes ripen slowly and steadily to ensure good concentration, and grow in clay-rich soils giving smooth, silky, well-balanced reds with fruity flavours.
Elevated to Named Village status on the same day as Rousset-les-Vignes in 1969, and although both can make any colour of wine they please, they both concentrate on reds. They even use the same varieties: Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre and a little Cinsault.

This cool corner of the Rhône Valley gives it a style of red wine that’s distinct by its lively freshness and brightness.

In the northern part of the Côtes du Rhône, there’s a long, south facing hillside that overlooks the river Aygues. It’s so perfect for growing vines that a number of appellations have staked a claim. There is one Cru, Vinsobres, to the east, and Named Villages like Visan to the west. Sandwiched between these two lies a thin section that goes by the name of Saint-Maurice.
We might be in the Southern Rhône here, but Saint-Maurice has a distinctly northern feel.

The high, hilly vineyards are surrounded by woodland, giving them a shaded, sheltered feel. And the grape varieties also look north. Grenache is king, but Syrah takes up a full third of plantings.

They make a surprising amount of white wine, around 10%, and again the grape varieties have a northern inflection: Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne, with some Grenache blanc giving the blends that unmistakable southern richness. And let’s not forget their crisp rosés.
Considering how few winemakers bottle any Saint-Maurice, the quality is consistently high. Whether red, white or rosé, what marks out these wines is their vibrancy and tension.
Tasting one is like catching sight of a rare bird – suddenly striking, and a moment to cherish.

The village of Saint-Gervais is on the west bank of the Rhône, north of Lirac, secreted far up the Cèze valley. Traditionally the vines have been grown on the flat, not far from its pretty white farmhouses. More recently however, the higher land to the north has been developed – and quality has moved up a gear.

Today this tiny appellation punches well above its weight.
The sandstone and clay lower down make for juicy, generous wines. Scale the two plateaux above the village and the soils are different – jagged white limestone breaks through the soil. Ripening is slower and later up here and the wines crackle with energy.

Most are red, but they make an unusually large proportion of white wine. Reds are a classic blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre backed up with Carignan and Cinsault; they produce vibrant berry-flavoured wines with enlivening spice notes. For whites, expect blends of Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache blanc, Clairette and Ugni blanc, giving fleshy orchard fruits with floral notes and herbs. Both display a brisk freshness that sustains them
for years in bottle.

Due to its diminutive size and concealed location, only a few producers still remain in Saint-Gervais. But these vibrant wines are attracting winemakers from further afield who are starting to experiment, to great effect. And with this renewed interest, the Saint-Gervais renaissance has begun.

Established in 2017, Saint-Andéol is one of the newest of the Named Villages. It’s also one of the smallest. But already their results are turning heads – it’s clear that this is a great terroir that produces a very distinctive style of wine.

This is the only Named Village in the Ardèche, at its most southerly tip, where two great rivers meet. They’ve laid down rolling hills of large pebbles that are perfect for growing Grenache and Syrah, with sharp shards of limestone further north.

The appellation is a union of four villages on the west bank of the Rhône that all have a saint in their name: Saint-Marcel, Saint-Just, Saint-Martin d’Ardèche and Bourg-Saint-Andéol.
Some of the estates here are hundreds of years old. But far from being stuck in their ways, this area has always been – and still is – a hotbed of experimentation. Local winemakers have a strong sense of independence, and often a radical, even rebellious, spirit.

Perhaps that’s why it has taken so long for local winemakers stake their claim and create this appellation.
But now they have, Saint-Andéol is a name to watch.

The wines of Sablet are as charming as the adorable village itself, its decorative bell tower peeking out among the rooftops like a bauble. It’s positioned at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail next the pretty village of Gigondas. Vineyards stretch down to the river Ouvèze and reach high into the hills above.
The wines here are renowned for their peerless finesse.

What’s their secret? There’s a clue in the name. The word for sand in French is sable, huge banks of which are found near the village, which is the key to the wine’s elegance. It produces distinctive reds with delicate textures, juicy but neat and compact. Their red fruit flavours are as transparent and clean cut as rubies.
Whites are a speciality here – on the east bank of the Rhône no Named Village makes more white wine than Sablet.

Clairette is their favourite grape, that’s famed for its freshness.
The other flagship grape varieties of the Rhône Valley still find very good soils at their feet.
They also make some lovely rosé. Both display that sophisticated style which has made Sablet one of the most sought-after of all the Côtes du Rhône Villages.

From the light soils of this vineyard comes a range of fruity, supple wines with smooth tannins.
Steep roads and stunning views describe the road to Rousset-les-Vignes, a route that the ancient General Hannibal Barca took as he approached the Alps on his way from Spain to Italy. Perched on the Lance mountain massif, the village is one of the northernmost appellations in the southern Rhône Valley, and with only 60 of its 300 hectares under production, it is also one of the smallest.

A cadastral map from the 15th century indicates several soils suitable for winegrowing, an early sign of the terroir’s potential. Since then, geologists have been able to give us a more scientific explanation.
The zaffre hills where the vines grow consist of sand and fossilised seashells deposited by the sea around eighteen million years ago. From these light soils comes a range of fruity, supple wines with smooth tannins. As one climbs the slope, the wines become fuller-bodied and more structured.

They Planting the Côtes du Rhône’s top varietals: Grenache noir, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault. The appellation rosés, meanwhile, show delightful flavours of red berry fruit.