France · AOCs
Rhône Septentrionale (Northen)
Pure Syrah on vertiginous granite terraces; rare aromatic whites.
A thin, dramatic stretch of the upper valley where Syrah clings to terraced granite slopes too steep for machines. Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage are the legends; Cornas and Saint-Joseph the rising value. The whites — Condrieu's Viognier, Hermitage's Marsanne/Roussanne — are some of France's most distinctive.
Growers co-ferment a little Viognier with the Syrah.
ClimateContinental
Altitude150–350 m
Grapes
Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne
Soils
GraniteSchistMica-schist
Some Côte-Rôtie terraces are so steep they're worked with winches.
