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Côtes du Rhône Cru AOC Lirac
One of the most Southern crus of the Rhone Valley, and probably one of the least known, growing in tranquil solitude well away from the beaten track.
Yet vines have been grown here since ancient times, and even in the Middle Ages these vineyards in the “Côte” du Rhône were renowned for the quality of their wines.
The appellation area encompasses the best soils in four communes in the Gard département, its wines available in all three colours. Blending the terroir wines together creates a distinctive Lirac style, powerful, well-structured and aromatic, but always fresh and elegant. A gem to look for.
Crus
This word comes from the past participle of the verb "croître" (to grow): where the vine has grown, that is, has grown. A cru designates a specific wine-growing area, often a village. In the Rhône Valley, it refers to the AOCs known as communal because they (generally) bear the name of a commune, located at the top of the appellation hierarchy. Therefore, 1 cru = 1 AOC.
- Northern crus: Château-Grillet, Condrieu, Cornas, Côte-Rôtie, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, and Saint-Péray.
- Southern crus: Beaumes-de-Venise, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Laudun, Lirac, Rasteau (naturally sweet wine and still wine), Tavel, Vacqueyras, and Vinsobres.
AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages Saint-Gervais
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.