Côte-Rôtie AOC

The Côte-Rôtie vines are probably among the oldest in the Rhône Valley. One of the mosaics found at Saint-Romain-en-Gal, from the early 3rd century, shows a harvest and grape treading. Celsus, Pliny the Elder, Plutarch, Columella and Martial are among the ancient authors who mention the Allobrogica, a wine of Vienne. Inter Rhône dates the first written documentation naming Ampuis and Côte-Rôtie to the 6th century. In the 18th century the wines graced the tables of princes in England, Russia and Prussia. By Inter Rhône's account, the vineyards were at their peak by 1890. Accounts of the late 19th century differ: INAO's cahier says phylloxera destroyed a large part of the vineyard, while Inter Rhône says the vineyards escaped the devastating effects of phylloxera. The First World War and then the industrialisation of the Rhône Valley drastically reduced the labour these steep slopes need, and some 150 local winegrowers were killed in that war. Inter Rhône says only about 60 hectares remained planted by 1960. Accounts of the revival also differ: INAO dates the start of the vineyard's renaissance to the 1960s, the Côte-Rôtie ODG dates a second wind to the 1970s, and Inter Rhône dates a revival to the 1980s. The decree of 18 October 1940 recognised the appellation on two communes, and the modification of 21 December 1966 extended the geographical area to the neighbouring commune of Saint-Cyr-sur-le-Rhône.

• INAO's cahier cites 1592 as one of the oldest written traces of the established reputation of Ampuis wines, and dates the oldest written use of the name Côte Rôtie to at least 1698
• Decanter's James Lawther MW wrote in 1999 that the appellation had only 50 hectares in production in the 1960s, and that the revival of interest in Northern Rhône wines in the late 1970s was spearheaded by the growing reputation of Etablissements Guigal in Ampuis
• In 2010 the vines again occupied the surfaces that existed before the phylloxera crisis

The vineyard lies about forty kilometres south of Lyon, on the eastern edge of the Massif Central, on very steep slopes above the right bank of the Rhône facing the southern part of Vienne, between 180 and 325 metres above sea level. The two local bodies give the gradient differently: Inter Rhône says the slopes reach gradients of over 60° in places, while the Côte-Rôtie ODG says the steepest slopes can reach 60% inclination. Almost all the vines grow on metamorphic rock, in three broad zones: mica schist in the north of the appellation, gneiss in the south, and migmatite in the extreme south. The climate is semi-continental, with the last Mediterranean influences reaching up the Rhône Valley; the north wind, locally called the Bise, is frequent, and the vineyard's general south-east orientation gives it a relatively sheltered and sunny situation. On the Côte Blonde, the crumbly sandy clay soils, called arzel, cannot be farmed without dry-stone walls known locally as cheys; on the Côte Brune, the more clay-rich soil is laid out in narrow terraces called chaillées.

• Côte Brune: a mica-schist substratum giving darker soils that are less siliceous, more clay-rich and richer in iron
• Côte Blonde: a substratum mostly of gneiss giving light-coloured siliceous soils, fairly often recalcified by loess deposits from the plateau
• Côte Brune and Côte Blonde are two lieux-dits sitting almost side by side above Ampuis; as Decanter's Matt Walls wrote in 2021, the whole northern half of the appellation is often called 'the Côte Brune' locally and the southern half 'the Côte Blonde'

Syrah is the principal variety and Viognier the accessory variety. Syrah must make up at least 80% of each holding's plantings and at least 80% of the blend, and Viognier is allowed interplanted in Syrah parcels up to 20% of the vines. Wines made from both varieties must be vinified from the grapes blended together in the same proportion. In practice, Decanter's Matt Walls wrote in 2021 that more than 10% Viognier is rare, and that the variety is more commonly planted on the blonde side. Interplanted Syrah and Viognier parcels are found more often on the Côte Blonde than on the Côte Brune. The grapes ferment as whole bunches or destemmed, in vessels such as stainless steel, concrete, amphora or wooden foudres, and most growers age their wines in barriques for between 12 and 48 months depending on the cuvée. INAO's cahier describes dark, almost black wines that evolve toward garnet, with black fruit and spice on the nose, sometimes violet when Viognier is present, and silky tannins.

• Guigal's Côte-Rôtie 'La Mouline' comes from a vineyard in the heart of the Côte Blonde: 89% Syrah and 11% Viognier, aged 40 months in new oak
• Guigal's Côte-Rôtie 'La Landonne' is 100% Syrah (whole harvest), aged 40 months in new oak, on limestone clay very rich in iron oxide
• Domaine Jamet's Côte Rôtie is 100% Syrah from twenty parcels, made essentially from whole bunches and kept in barrels for 22 months, 15% of them new

Maison Guigal was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis, and Marcel Guigal took over management of the domain while still very young. Milestones in the house's history include the purchase of the Vidal-Fleury establishment at the beginning of the 1980s and the acquisition of the Château d'Ampuis in 1995. Marcel Guigal released La Mouline from a vineyard in the Côte Blonde in 1966 and La Landonne from the Côte Brune in 1978. Decanter's James Lawther MW wrote in 1999 that La Mouline and La Turque were not registered sites but were listed as trade names. La Landonne was planted in 1975, and Guigal places La Turque on Côte Brune terroirs 'with blond accents'. Guigal's Château d'Ampuis bottling draws on seven plots: Le Clos, La Garde and La Grande Plantée on the Côte Blonde, and La Pommière, Le Pavillon Rouge, Le Moulin and La Viria on the Côte Brune. At Domaine Jamet, which lies on a plateau known as Le Vallin, Jean-Paul, his wife Corinne and, more recently, their elder son Loïc cultivate the vines.

• Guigal 'La Mouline': Côte Blonde; 89% Syrah, 11% Viognier; 40 months in new oak
• Guigal 'La Landonne': Côte Brune; planted 1975; 100% Syrah; 40 months in new oak
• Guigal 'La Turque': 93% Syrah, 7% Viognier; 40 months in new oak

The cahier des charges for Côte-Rôtie, homologated by decree no. 2011-1363 of 24 October 2011 and in the version approved by the national committee for wine appellations of origin on 30 November 2023, reserves the appellation for still red wines. The delimited parcel area was approved on 12 February 1969. Vines must be planted at a minimum density of 6,000 per hectare with rows no more than 2 metres apart, and pruned to a maximum of 10 buds per vine as gobelet, cordon de Royat or single Guyot. Grapes must be harvested by hand and reach at least 171 grams of sugar per litre of must, and the wines must have a minimum natural alcohol of 10.5%. The base yield is 40 hl/ha, the rendement butoir is 46 hl/ha, and the whole crop loses the appellation above 60 hl/ha. Oak chips and continuous presses are banned, and total alcohol after enrichment is capped at 13%. Labels may name a smaller geographical unit if it is a lieu-dit cadastré listed on the harvest declaration, and may add the larger unit 'Cru des Côtes du Rhône' or 'Vignobles de la Vallée du Rhône'.

• Syrah at least 80% of the blend; Viognier interplanted in Syrah parcels up to 20% of the vines; wines from both varieties vinified from the blended grapes
• Inter Rhône counts 73 officially registered lieux-dits and the Côte-Rôtie ODG 75; Decanter's Matt Walls also gave 73 official lieux-dits in 2021
• Minimum density 6,000 vines/ha; hand harvest; minimum natural alcohol 10.5%; yield 40 hl/ha, rendement butoir 46 hl/ha

Ampuis sits at the heart of the Côte-Rôtie appellation, and Maison Guigal is based at the Château d'Ampuis. The Marché aux vins d'Ampuis has been organised every year since 1928, and Inter Rhône calls January's wine market in Ampuis a major annual event for the appellation. The 97th edition is set for 22 to 25 January 2027, with more than 300 wines on 66 growers' stands. Le Caveau du Château, a wine tourism space with a museum of objects from the Guigal family's collection, opened in January 2020. The archaeological site of Saint-Romain-en-Gal, known for mosaics from Roman villas, adjoins the vineyard.

• Marché aux vins d'Ampuis: held annually since 1928; 97th edition 22 to 25 January 2027
• Le Caveau du Château: opened January 2020, with a museum of objects from the Guigal family's collection
• Côte-Rôtie pairs notably with grilled, braised and sauced meats, mushroom dishes, game, terrines, truffle and chocolate

Primary sources (INAO, Inter Rhône and the Côte-Rôtie ODG): https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023AOPCoteRotie.pdf, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-cote-rotie, https://www.cote-rotie.com/, https://www.cote-rotie.com/cote-rotie/, https://www.cote-rotie.com/le-syndicat-de-cote-rotie/. Producer sources (own sites): https://www.guigal.com/en/wine/cote-rotie-la-mouline/, https://www.guigal.com/en/wine/cote-rotie-la-landonne/, https://www.guigal.com/en/wine/cote-rotie-la-turque/, https://www.guigal.com/en/wine/cote-rotie-chateau-dampuis/, https://www.guigal.com/en/wine/cote-rotie-brune-blonde-de-guigal/, https://www.guigal.com/en/maison-guigal/our-history/, https://www.guigal.com/en/vignoble/cote-rotie/, https://www.cote-rotie-jamet.com/en/domaine, https://www.cote-rotie-jamet.com/en/vin/2/cote-rotie. Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/premium/walls-brune-and-blonde-soils-in-cote-rotie-do-they-really-make-all-the-difference-464946/, https://www.decanter.com/magazine/cote-rotie-vignerons-prefer-blondes-249893/. Last verified 2026-10-05