Serre des Vignes (Grignan-les-Adhémar)

Vineyard with lavender fields in the background

As you go whizzing down the Rhône valley on your way to Provence or further afield turn left around Montélimar. You will discover an area of hills, valleys and small villages nestling among lavender fields, orchards, and vineyards.

Find a good vantage point and you can fill your eyes with the mosaic of this landscape which seems to epitomise the south of France as we remember it in the works of Cézanne or Van Gogh. In the distance the snow topped pyramid of Mont Ventoux lords it over everything. The air tends to be pure as crystal and the sky a deep cerulean blue. The Mistral sees to it that clouds are quickly banished.

As a rule the area is not one which wine enthusiasts spend too much time exploring. Most of the grapes go to cooperatives and serve to produce the generic 'Côte'(s du Rhône) usually served in French restaurants in 250ml or 500ml jugs (pichets). It is a matter of reputation, and here people go about their business in the vines and the orchards without worrying too much about what people think in the wine scene in Paris or London. This does not mean that good distinctive wines cannot be made here.

The local appellation, once associated with the Tricastin nuclear power station, has metamorphosed into Grignan-les-Adhémar. Is this a sign of good things to come ? There are also some producers who have decided the cooperative is no longer the favoured route to market and who, like Jérôme & Vincent Roux at Domaine du Serre des Vignes, now make their own wine in their own purpose-built winery.

Jérôme in the vineyard

The Roux' 40 hectares are split between apricots, vines and lavender. There is something very traditional about this mix, and it feels very right, avoiding the vast monoculture found further down the Rhône valley. The vines stand where they tend to grow well, not simply anywhere there is a spare field.

Jérôme & Vincent have chosen to cultivate organically. Their wines are made in the traditional manner spending plenty of time in tank, maturing slowly. As a measure of their success the 2009 Secret de Syrah (100% Syrah) won a gold medal at the prestigious Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris. This wine has much of the smoky complexity of the Northern Rhône with the opulent fruit of the South and is great value. The other reds, whites and rosé in their range are made equally well. The whites have great minerality and freshness.


Domaine du Serre des Vignes http://www.serredesvignes.com/