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Ardèche is a wine appellation on the right bank of the Rhône. With nearly twenty-eight appellations in the region, Ardèche wine is popular and widely appreciated. It is mainly red, but white and rosé wines are also available. Ardèche was awarded the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée in 1999.
The presence of vines in the Ardèche goes back thousands of years
Vines have been grown in the Ardèche for over two thousand years. Indeed, the scientist and historian Pliny the Elder, who died in Pompeii, mentions in his writings the vines of “Alba helvienne”, which already shows the region’s predominance in wine production.
In the Middle Ages, this wine gained in popularity and notoriety. However, production must be renewed: winemakers must remove hybrids and replace them with other grape varieties, such as Cinsault, Syrah, Gamay noir, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot and Grenache. Virtually the entire vineyard has been restructured, reinforcing its power and prestige among the thousand winegrowers in the region and beyond.
Ardèche wines: a favorable climate and an eclectic range of grape varieties
The region’s vines benefit greatly from a climate that is conducive to harvesting, thanks to the Mistral wind and the nearby Gorges de l’Ardèche. This developed environment is conducive to vine-growing and constitutes the distinctive feature of Ardèche wines; the multiplicity of grape varieties also contributes to this originality.
On nearly eight thousand hectares, the soils are composed of Bas-Vivarais limestone, volcanic soils and Cévennes sandstone. The vineyards extend up to two hundred meters above sea level.
The pleasant complexity of Ardèche wines
Thanks to the wide variety of grape varieties, Ardèche wines are original, eclectic and well-balanced.
The red Ardèche wine is garnet-red in color, with great power and depth. Sustained notes of red fruit on the nose, and depth and structure on the palate. Ideally enjoyed young, between two and three years.
The white wine has a straw-yellow color; the nose is fruity, with notes of exotic fruits for the Viognier and Chardonnay varieties, and citrus fruits for the Sauvignon variety. Dense on the palate too, to be served chilled.
Finally, rosé has a deep, rosy color. The nose presents notes of red fruit; on the palate, it’s well-balanced between alcohol and acidity, but still retains an appreciable roundness.
What to serve Ardèche wine with?
While red Ardèche wines go brilliantly with dishes such as vegetable gratin or Dauphinois, rosé is a happy accompaniment to pizza or barbecued dishes. The white goes well with ravioli and Italian dishes. More generally, red goes well with salads and cold meats, white with pasta, and rosé with all aperitif dishes. This humility of Ardèche wines shows their adaptability and ease in all areas.
The ideal tasting temperature is 15 to 16 degrees for red wines, and 8 to 10 degrees for white and rosé wines.
Vintages to remember when tasting Ardèche wines
The best vintages for red Ardèche are 1985, 1989, 1990, 1996 and 2005. The years 1985, 1990 are exceptional vintagesBut 1989 is the vintage of the millennium.
The best vintages for Ardèche Blanc are 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005 and 2008. 1999 and 2005 were exceptional vintages, 1990 the vintage of the century, and 1989 the vintage of the millennium.
The best vintages for Ardèche rosé are 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996 and 2005. 1988 is a year exceptional1989 and 1990 are vintages of the century.
Remarkable Ardèche wine estates in idyllic settings
Château Les Amoureuses
In an absolutely magical setting, in the middle of the orchards of Bourg-Saint-Andéol, the Bedel couple wanted to renew the spirit of the estate. The origins of the village lie in a legend: the young girls of the village used to loll around the vineyards, leading to encounters and beautiful romances. There was no question of changing the spirit of such a striking and touching image: the Bedels have preserved this romanticism and breathed new life into it in 2011.
On 76 hectares, production is focused on respect for nature, but also on modernization in every detail, while highlighting the diversity of grape varieties, thus reaching out to all wine lovers. The result is a wine of the highest quality, thanks to the hard work of the owners.
The vineyard is planted with 90% red and 10% white grape varieties.
Domaine de Pécoulas
On the rock of Sampzon, between Lagorce and Ruoms, the Eldin family brings the excellence of Ardèche wines up to date. The estate stretches out on sunny hillsides, on clay-limestone soils, but with some sandstone soils. These different soils make it possible to vary grape varieties and pleasures, with some fifteen different cuvées.
In this way, the estate aims to preserve a spirit of terroir and respect for the land through green harvesting. In this way, quality is prioritized over quantity, without the profit motive. Here we see the region’s love and passion for wine, through the transmission of know-how and oenological culture from one generation to the next. The family takes care of the entire winemaking process, from harvesting to bottling and selling.
