Cairanne ‘Les Six’ AOC 2017
I was looking along the shelves at Priory Wines in Lymington the other day and noticed a bottle of ‘Les Six’ Cairanne AOC.
I was intrigued because I expected it to say Cotes du Rhone Villages but it doesn’t it simply says Cairanne AOC. The answer, I discovered after some investigation is that Cairanne has now been elevated to Cru status which means that it gets its own appellation. This was only confirmed on 25th June 2018 and all vintages since 2016 may now show Cairanne AOC. If you are lucky enough to find a 2015 Cairanne it will be labelled as Cotes du Rhone Villages.
There are three levels of appellation within the Southern Rhone, the first created in 1937 is simply Cotes du Rhone, it covers the widest area from Vienne in the north to Avignon some 200km to the south, west to the Massif Central and east towards the foothills of the Alps.
Next comes Cotes du Rhone Villages AOC created in 1967 whose 95 communes have been recognised as consistently producing wines of superior character and quality. There is also a sub-category of 18 villages that are also allowed to add their own name to the label, these are the ones most likely to be elevated to the final stage of receiving their own appellation.
Finally, there are the Crus, these have all passed the highest scrutiny and produce wines of the highest quality, they each have their own appellation and their labels do not need to include Cotes du Rhone at all. Some of these Crus are household names such as Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras and others fly under the radar a little and perhaps offer the best value to the consumer.
Back to my bottle of ‘Les Six’ Cairanne AOC 2017, the six refers to the six types of grapes blended to make this excellent wine: Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourvèdre are the most common grapes seen in southern Rhone wines, plus Cinsault, Counoise and Carignan Noir which are less common and used in much smaller quantities.
The grapes are fermented using the natural yeasts already present on the grape skins which leads to a long slow fermentation producing a full-flavoured and complex wine which is blended and then aged in 6,000lt oak vats for almost a year before bottling.
Food Pairing
If, like me you are planning on cooking roast leg of lamb for your Boxing Day lunch then this is the ideal pairing although it would be great with all red meats. Just remember to give this special wine at least an hour to breathe before serving to really give it a chance to open up.