Exploring Beaumes-de-Venise (1) introducing this interesting Rhône Cru
Beaumes-de-Venise is a small but interesting Cru in the southern Rhône.
Initially, it was made a cru for its sweet wines, vins doux naturels based on Muscat, back in 1945. The Cru emerged that year, but wines from 1943 onwards were allowed to use it. Still, to this day, the Muscats from here are highly prized.
Then, as recently as 2005, it became a Cru for red wines too.
Since 2022 they have had the paperwork in for dry white wines to also have the cru, and there’s a lot of interest in this. It’s going to happen soon! The rules for the whites will be that there must be a minimum of 5% Muscat, and a maximum of 30%.
This is a diverse cru, with vineyards ranging from 50 m in the south (prime Muscat territory) where it’s a bit flatter, all the way up to 600 m. Aspects and soils change frequently, as the northern part of the cru is quite hilly.
Soils vary, with some quite sandy, others clay rich, some with a bit of limestone, and then there’s a famous soil type that’s much prized called trias (you might even see this on labels). It’s specific to this cru in the Rhône, and it’s a blond/yellow sort of ferricrete that can be quite hard. It needs to be worked after rain.
I began with a tour with winegrower Xavier Vignon on an all-terrain vehicle, and over a period of three hours we investigated just about every bit of the cru, from the low-lying Muscat vineyards of the south to the high-up bits tucked into the dentelles.
Coming in this series, over the next few days:
BEAUMES-DE-VENISE
- Introduction
- Petitjean family: Domaine de Cassan and Château Les Croix des Pins
- Xavier Vignon
- Domaine La Ligière
- Domaine Saint Amant
- Domaine de la Ferme Saint-Martin
- Domaine Raboly
- Rhonea
- Domaine de Durban
- Domaine De Fenouillet
- Domaine Saint Roch
- Domaine Les Bernardins
- A big tasting of Beaumes-de-Venise wines
- Photographs of Beaumes-de-Venise
