This cuvee is made up of a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, from the Garrigues plateau located near the village of Sarrians. This wine is highly perfumed with aromas of ripe red berries and smoky minerality. The generous palate offers intense red berry and lavender flavors and a touch of white pepper.

Burgundy-trained Stéphane Ogier is a northern Rhône wunderkind, says Master of Wine Jancis Robinson. He makes this full bodied, fresh southern Rhône blend of about 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah from vines substantially grown in Violès on Le Plan de Dieu supplemented by some from Visan. Soils are a mixture of limestone and blue clay. Average vine density is 7,000 vines per hectare with the average age a very heartening 30 to 50 years. Vines are hand-harvested – yields averaging 40 hl/ha – before being sorted in both vineyard and cellar.

 Ogier joined his father Michel in 1997 to work the family vineyards and built a glamorous new winery just south of Ampuis overlooked by the steep Côte Rôtie terraces. And he has now built a second winery in the southern Rhône to make wines like Le Temps est Venu without having to ship the grapes too far.

The Domaine des Espiers is located in the heart of Vaucluse, between the banks of the Ouvèze and Dentelles de Montmirail. This is an excellent value Cote du Rhone with smooth tannins, warm berry fruit flavours and a medium body. 

This Chateauneuf du Pape is a full-bodied and rich blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. This is a concentrated, deep wine with dark fruit, cherry and spiced notes. Expect this wine to age gracefully over the next few years.

Chene Bleu is a relatively new wine brand at Regional. All of the wines are certified organic with the EU and made to exactly quality standards. Hand picked grapes, double sorted in the vineyard, tiny yields and obvious high quality flavours are just some of the reasons to drink these wines.

This blend of Grenache and Syrah comes from Ventoux in the southern Rhône Valley, France; a Mediterranean wine region where dark, dense fruit flavours combine with the earthy appeal of aromas like leather, spice, anise and dried herbs.

This is a mouthwatering red wine which ticks all the boxes and more than delivers on value for money too.

Vacqueyras has always played second fiddle to Chateauneuf but the wines are finally starting to get the credit they deserve and this full bodied, deep and complex red is an excellent expression of this appellation. 

Sang des Cailloux means “blood of the stones,” and the galets ridden nature of the soil comes across in the mineral, stony aspect of this wine which is deep and full of energy and with notes of lavender, red and black fruit and olive. It is ready to drink now but will age gracefully for at least ten to fifteen years.

This wine is made from grapes grown on the elevated Plateau des Garrigues, where the vines are planted on a mixture of red clay, limestone and galets roule - or pudding - stones that are famously found in Chateaunuef.

75% Grenache + 25% Syrah from sandy light soils at the limit of the slopes of Sablet in the Southern Rhone.

Winemaking: The stems are removed and the Syrah and Grenache are fermented separately over 10 to 15 days in concrete tanks at a temperature of around 25 degrees. The wines is then matured for 3 months in oak.

Tasting: Bright ruby colour. The nose is very aromatic with intense reds fruit, hints of spice and liquorice. The palate is expressive and fleshy and follows suit with the nose.

How is it possible to roll all these flavours into one affordable wine? Ask the Famille Perrin, one of the great winemaking families in southern France, who create this complex, fruity, earthy and fresh Cotes du Rhone from a blend of Grenache (mainly from their Prébois vineyard in Orange), Syrah from further north in Vinsobres and Mourvèdre. While many less interesting Cotes du Rhone are made from a straightforward blend of Grenache and Syrah, the addition of the dark, mocha-like flavours of Mourvèdre add depth, richness and smooth soft velvet mouthfeel. 

The grapes in this wine were destemmed and fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks between 150hl and 190hl. Extraction is done by pumping over and the frequency is determined by tasting. The separate component wines are transferred partly to oak barrels and partly to stainless steel vats for a year's maturation, prior to blending. 

The result is outstanding dry red wine flavours with rich soft fruit appeal and a long finish; all to be hoped for from the family who own Chateau de Beaucastel.

This is a great young red with medium term ageing ability and especially fresh and consistent thanks to being sealed with a screw cap.