An
appellation (in this case, an
appellation d'origine contrôlée or
AOC) designating certain
wines produced in the
Rhône valley in southern
France. The vast
majority of wines produced in this area are
red wines composed of
Grenache,
Syrah, and
Cinsaut grapes, though the blends and character of Côtes du Rhône wines may vary from
producer to producer. But French law demands that all wines bearing this
appellation meet certain
criteria, so you generally
know what you're getting.
There is another similar appellation called Côtes du Rhône-Villages, which is a subset of the Côtes du Rhône appellation. Wines from this subset come from 16 historically wine-producing villages along the Rhône and may have a higher-than-average alcohol content.
There are also other well-known appellations from the Rhône valley, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which share much in common with traditional Côtes du Rhône wines.
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