DRINK DIFFERENT - A REAL RHONE FIND

Côtes du Rhône remains an extremely popular wine area, and it is somewhere which has upped its game over the past couple of decades, with village appellations in particular growing in prestige and quality.

Gigondas is perhaps the best known – and the price of the wines from that village reflect this.  But in recent years a number of nearby villages have achieved AOC status, and they can offer similar wines at (relatively) bargain prices.

One such village is Sablet, just three miles away.  As the name suggests (‘sable’ is French for sand), it is situated on good-draining sandy soil, giving depth to its wines – all for about half what you would pay for an equivalent Gigondas.  It’s also worth seeking out its excellent full white wines.