AOC Côtes du Vivarais
Produced in the southern part of Ardèche, in a bucolic setting where vines grow peaceably alongside olive trees and holm oak, Côtes du Vivarais wines are a perfect reflection of their terroir: rugged yet warm-hearted. The vines thrive in the soils of the Plateau des Gras, an area bisected by the spectacular Gorges de l’Ardèche.
The landscape has been shaped for over 15,000 years by underground watercourses, and hides a wealth of subterranean wonders, including caves, chasms and bubbling springs. The Aven d’Orgnac, one of the largest caves in the world, became a Grand Site de France in 2004.
In a bid to safeguard these wonderful gifts of nature without compromising quality, the wine-growers of Côtes du Vivarais invite wine lovers to discover their warm, generous wines.
Informations
Climate: Temperate continental with mediterranean influences
Soils: Limestone / Clay
Altitude: 250 meters
Website appellation: https://lesvinsdardeche.com/cotes-du-vivarais/
Key figures
Production surface area in 2023: 160 HA
Total production in 2023: 5 893 HL
Average annual yeld: 37 HL/HA
Export: 2%
Recognition in AOC by the I.N.A.O.: 1999
Communes: 14 communes, nine in Ardèche and five in Gard.
Grape varieties
Grenache blanc
An emblematic grape variety of the southern Rhône Valley, Grenache blanc is the most widely planted white grape variety in the region. It is also known as Garnacha blanca in Spain, and is a mutation of the Grenache family (along with Grenache noir and Grenache gris).
Grenache noir
The king of the southern Rhône Valley varieties, it alone embodies all the deliciousness and generosity of Rhône wines. The most-planted of our grape varieties, it charms as much by its warmth as by the roundness of its character.
Syrah
Syrah is one of the most emblematic red grape varieties of the northern part of the Côtes du Rhône. Due to its rarity, it is only used to produce certain great wines.
Secondary grape varieties
- Clairette blanche,
- Marsanne
Complementary grape varieties
- Cinsault,
- Marselan,
- Roussanne,
- Viognier
To know
History
There is evidence that vines grew in the area between the Rhône and the Cévennes more than 2,000 years ago, tended by a Gaulish tribe known as the Helvii; however, viticulture was not developed on a large scale until the Middle Ages.
In the late 16th century, French soil scientist and father of modern agriculture Olivier de Serres, described the wines of Vivarais as “so precious and delicate that there is no reason to look elsewhere”.
The varietals grown here at the time were fairly resistant to disease and frost, gave good yields and were cost-effective.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Vivarais winegrowers established their own cooperative winery, where the bulk of the appellation wine is still produced today. In the late 1950s, a small handful of winegrowers challenged themselves to improve quality further still; they replanted their vineyards choosing only noble varieties found to be compatible with the soils. These included Grenache noir, and Syrah for reds, and Grenache blanc and Marsanne for whites.
The wines were awarded VDQS appellation status in 1962, and the winegrowers’ talents and persistence were further rewarded in 1999 when Côtes du Vivarais wines were officially granted AOC status.
Climate
Largely influenced by the Mediterranean, with a continental tendency. Influenced by the Mistral wind.
Soils
Soils are shallow, featuring marl and limestone.
Large quantities of stones warm the soil starting in early spring, by absorbing the heat of the sun in the daytime and reflecting it back to the vines at night.
Geography
The Côtes du Vivarais AOC vineyards lie on the Plateau des Gras, on either side of the Ardèche gorges at an altitude of 250 metres. The planted area stretches across 14 communes, nine in the Ardèche and five in the Gard.
Varieties and flavours
The grape varieties allowed for AOC Côtes du Vivarais are, for red and rosé wines: Grenache and Syrah, complemented by Cinsault and Marselan; for white wines: Grenache blanc, complemented by Clairette, Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne.
The appellation’s red wines are characterised by black berry fruit and spicy flavours, fairly robust tannins and a pleasing freshness.
Their character comes mainly from the Grenache grape, which provides structure while Syrah adds spices. The different vintages vary in terms of both colour (deep red, purple) and flavour.
Vivarais’ fresh rosés, made from the same grape varieties as the reds, are deep pink in colour and intensely flavoured, due largely to their Grenache content. Marsanne and Grenache blanc give the appellation’s whites unexpected freshness and minerality.
Associated appellations
