Northern Rhône: Syrah and Viognier Country

Winemaking in the Northern Rhône traces to ancient times: Roman writers Martial and Pliny the Elder, along with Greek biographer Plutarch, lauded the wines of Côte-Rôtie, calling them the "wines of Vienne", and the first written documentation mentioning Ampuis and Côte-Rôtie by name dates back to the 6th century. The vineyard's early development is probably linked to the Roman peace, which allowed the Allobroges, whose territory included part of the right bank opposite Vienne, to acquire Roman citizenship and with it the right to plant vines. Henry IV, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Nicolas II and Alexandre Dumas were among the enthusiasts of Hermitage. INAO's Hermitage specification calls the story of Henri Gaspard de Stérimberg, a knight returning from the Albigensian crusade who settled on the hill around 1224 as its first hermit, apocryphal, while the archives of Tain-l'Hermitage confirm several hermits on the hill from 1598. In the 19th century phylloxera destroyed much of the Côte-Rôtie vineyard, and the First World War and the industrialisation of the Rhône valley then drastically reduced the labour the steep slopes need. By 1960, only about 60 hectares remained planted in Côte-Rôtie. Maison Guigal was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis, and Jancis Robinson's site credits Marcel Guigal's single-vineyard wines with making a name for the whole appellation.

• Côte-Rôtie was recognised as a controlled appellation by the decree of 18 October 1940 on the communes of Ampuis and Tupin-Semons, and the zone was extended in 1966 to Saint-Cyr-sur-le-Rhône
• Hermitage was first recognised as an appellation of origin by the Valence tribunal on 25 June 1936 and as a controlled appellation by the decree of 4 March 1937
• Some 150 local winegrowers from Côte-Rôtie were killed in the First World War, and a number of slopes were subsequently abandoned
• Condrieu's revival started in the 1980s thanks to the efforts of a handful of winegrowers, and in 1986 the AOC boundaries were revised to retain only the slopes with the best exposure

The Northern Rhône follows the Rhône south from Vienne to Valence, and Côte-Rôtie, a few miles from Lyon, is the northernmost appellation in the Rhône Valley. Most of the crus lie on the right bank, while Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage lie on the left bank around Tain-l'Hermitage. The northern part of the valley has abrupt slopes with steep gradients and terraced plots, and its main soil types are clay, rocky and granite soils; the granitic rocks of the northern Rhône were produced by volcanic activity in the Massif Central three hundred million years ago. Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu and Saint-Joseph have a continental or semi-continental climate with Mediterranean influences, and Côte-Rôtie's climate is similar to that of Lyon, with mild winters, hot summers and relatively regular rainfall. In the north of Crozes-Hermitage an almost constant wind dries the air along the Rhône corridor, and at Cornas a semicircle of hills protects the vineyard from the Mistral wind. Some vineyards are so steep that pulley systems have to be used for grapes and equipment.

• On Côte-Rôtie, the Côte Blonde sits on a substrate mostly of gneiss giving light-coloured siliceous soils, and the Côte Brune on mica schists giving darker, more clay-rich soils richer in iron
• Condrieu's vineyards cling to the parent rock in long, narrow terraces called chayées, with granite at the deepest part of the rocky outcrops
• Hermitage's terroir is granitic sand with a covering of mica-schists and gneiss, and its named plots include Bessards, Greffieux, Méal, Rocoules and Beaumes
• Cornas lies on steep slopes facing east and south-east at altitudes of 125 to 400 m, 7 km from Valence, and its soil is chiefly decomposed granite, giving sandy clay soils known as gores

Syrah is the only red variety in the northern crus: Syrah, Marsanne and Roussanne are the only varieties authorised in the northern appellations on Hermitage's bank of the Rhône, and Cornas is made from Syrah alone. Northern Rhône Syrah tends towards black and red fruit, pepper and spice: Côte-Rôtie shows spice, red and black berry fruit and violets, Saint-Joseph spicy, peppery aromas with a touch of violet, and Cornas black fruit maturing to a spicy, liquorice finish. DNA tests by J.M. Boursicot of INRA Montpellier have shown the Rhône origin of Syrah, a cross of Mondeuse Blanche (mondeuse B) and Dureza. Côte-Rôtie is the only red cru in the northern Côtes du Rhône to plant Viognier alongside Syrah, though in practice most Côte-Rôtie is 100 per cent Syrah. Condrieu and Château-Grillet are 100% Viognier whites, and Marsanne and Roussanne make the whites of Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Saint-Péray.

• Viognier is interplanted more often on the Côte Blonde than on the Côte Brune
• Condrieu is typically fresh and highly aromatic, with floral perfumes, particularly violets, and fruity notes of mango, white peach and apricot
• Hermitage may carry the additional mention vin de paille, a sweet wine made from dried grapes that is a speciality there
• Saint-Péray makes still and sparkling whites from Marsanne and Roussanne, and Louis-Alexandre Faure produced the first Saint-Péray sparkling wine in 1829

The three biggest producers of the northern Rhône are Marcel Guigal of Côte Rôtie, Michel Chapoutier, who practises biodynamic viticulture, and Paul Jaboulet Aîné, a Hermitage specialist sold by the Jaboulet family to the Frey family of Château La Lagune in 2005. Maison Guigal was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis, and Marcel and Philippe Guigal, together with their spouses, are today the guardians of the house. Guigal's Côte-Rôtie La Mouline comes from a vineyard in the heart of the Côte Blonde, and La Turque from Côte Brune terroirs; Jancis Robinson's site credits the La-La wines' long maturation in new oak and low yields for their appeal. Jean-Louis Chave is among the family domaines in and around Tain and Tournon, and Domaine Jean-Louis Chave is one of the producers in the village of Mauves. Côte-Rôtie has a group of around one hundred winemakers and their 60 estates.

• Guigal's La Mouline blends 89% Syrah and 11% Viognier, La Turque 93% Syrah and 7% Viognier, and La Landonne is 100% Syrah; all three are aged 40 months in new oak
• La Landonne was planted in 1975, the year of Philippe Guigal's birth
• Guigal took over Jean-Louis Grippat and de Vallouit in 2001 and bought the Domaine de Bonserine in Ampuis in March 2006
• A 1979 extension brought Château-Grillet's total area to 3 hectares 69 ares 16 centiares, and the appellation now has only one owner

The Northern Rhône Valley groups eight Côtes du Rhône crus: Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Château-Grillet, Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage, Cornas and Saint-Péray. Each has its own INAO specification setting grape varieties and production rules, and the Côtes du Rhône AOC, recognised on 19 November 1937, covers communes between Ampuis and Avignon. Château-Grillet and Saint-Péray were recognised as AOCs in 1936, Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage in 1937, Cornas in 1938, Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu in 1940, and Saint-Joseph in 1956. Côte-Rôtie permits Syrah with Viognier interplanted up to 20% of the vines, and Cornas permits only Syrah. Saint-Joseph was recognised in 1956 on 6 communes around Tournon and extended in 1969 to 20 more communes, and today it encompasses 23 communes in the Ardèche and 3 in the Loire. Château-Grillet, one of the smallest French AOCs, is recognised only for Viognier white wines.

• Côte-Rôtie is recognised for red wines only, and Syrah must make up at least 80% of each blend
• Hermitage spans the communes of Tain-l'Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Larnage in the Drôme, on the left bank of the Rhône
• Crozes-Hermitage was created in 1937 on the village of the same name alone, and the 10 surrounding communes were included in 1952
• Condrieu was recognised on 27 April 1940 on the communes of Condrieu, Vérin and Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône, and in 1967 the zone was extended to Chavanay, Malleval, Saint-Pierre-de-Bœuf and Limony

Decanter's Matt Walls names Ampuis, at the heart of Côte-Rôtie, and Condrieu as the two small towns to know at the northern end of the region. Tain-l'Hermitage and Tournon sit on either side of the Rhône, connected by a bridge, and Decanter recommends either as a base for exploring the Northern Rhône. Guigal acquired the Château d'Ampuis in 1995 and opened Le Caveau du Château, a wine tourism space with a museum, in January 2020. The January wine market in Ampuis is a major annual event for Côte-Rôtie. In Tain, Chapoutier and Cave de Tain both have boutiques where visitors can plan tours or walks around the vineyards. Most wineries are small, family-run domaines, and visits should always be booked in advance.

• Decanter names April to July as the best time to visit; in August many producers are on holiday, and in September they are concentrating on the new vintage
• Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport is an hour's drive from Ampuis and an hour and a half from Tain, and Grenoble Isère Airport is an hour's drive from both
• Decanter suggests a walk up to the ruined Château de Crussol when visiting Saint-Péray
• Decanter describes the village of Mauves, on the way from Tournon, as home to an inordinate number of excellent producers

Primary sources (INAO, Inter Rhône at vins-rhone.com, and Maison Guigal for its own history and wines): https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-cote-rotie, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-condrieu, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-chateau-grillet, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-saint-joseph, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-crozes-hermitage, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-hermitage, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-cornas, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/cotes-du-rhone-cru-aoc-saint-peray, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/territory-and-terroir, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/wine-school/history-vineyards, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/rhone-valley-vineyards/grape-varieties, https://www.vins-rhone.com/en/rhone-valley-vineyards, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023AOPCornas.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023SaintJoseph.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023AOPCondrieu.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023AOPChateauGrillet.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2024AOPCrozesHermitage.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2023AOPCoteRotie.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2024AOPHermitage.pdf, https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/PNO2025AOPSaintPeray.pdf, https://www.guigal.com/en/maison-guigal/our-history/, 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/. The INAO specification PDFs are the versions published for the national opposition procedure (2023 to 2025). Secondary sources: https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/exploring-the-northern-rhone-471726/, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/wine-regions/france/northern-rhone. Last verified 2026-10-05