Recently, Cotes du Rhone officially welcomed it’s 20th cru, Laudun (aside: pendants can argue there’s 18, 19, 20, or even 17 crus. I’m sticking with the official number, 20). Starting with the 2024 vintage, Laudun AOC has now been approved for red and white wine production (Rose is not part of the new AOC). Covering the vineyards of Laudun-l’Ardoise, Treques and Saint-Victor-la-Coste, on the right bank of the Rhone; west of Chateauneuf Du Pape, and north of Lirac and Tavel.
The bottle I have today is a 2022 vintage, so one of the last years where it would be sold as Cotes du Rhone Villages. Going forward, I presume they’ll be labeling this as Laudun instead. This is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Counoise, and the vines are 50+ years old. It comes in at a hefy 14.5% ABV and 4g/l.
On the nose, there’s a lot of intense fruit. Think berry jam. With some clove and black pepper rounding it out. There’s a lot of concentration.
In the mouth, this is an incredibly fruity wine. Not sweet, but very smooth and full bodied.
On the finish, there’s a bit of acidity providing some levity and some notable tannins. Not really flabby by any means despite the rich fruit.
If you like a rich, jammy south rhone, this is a great one. It’s incredibly drinkable, and I can easily knock back a few glasses while watching TV or something and not notice until I get drunk.
I paid $20 CAD for this bottle, and for this price, it is killer. Now true, this is technically still Cotes du Rhone villages, so I don’t know how the pricing will change a year or two later when it becomes Laudun AOC. But if I’m judging by the other recently promoted crus like Vinosobres or Cairanne, getting promoted to cru status probably isn’t going to do too much to increase pricing.
I’ve only had 2 Lauduns in recent memory, and I fully understand the futility of trying to extrapolate a trend from a sample of 2. But I do think that Laudun deserves its status as a cru as these bottles are notably better than most average Cotes du Rhone Villages.
So I think the advice I’d give people shopping in the Rhone nowadays is – If you’re shopping for a bottle of Rhone on a whim, just go for the cheaper crus. Laudun, Cairanne, Vinosobres, Lirac, and the like. These crus are maybe a couple of dollars more than Cote Du Rhone Villages. The average quality of these cres are still notably higher than the average quality of Cote du Rhone Villages. For example, at my government liquor store, 1 producer has their Cotes du Rhone listed at $19.95 and their Lirac is $24.95 (their Vacqueryras is $34.55). Or another producer has their Cotes du Rhone listed at $18.95, their Cairanne is only $19.95, while their Chateauneuf-du-Pape is $49.95. The price gap is small enough that I think almost always think going for the cru is worth it.
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Recently, Cotes du Rhone officially welcomed it’s 20th cru, Laudun (aside: pendants can argue there’s 18, 19, 20, or even 17 crus. I’m sticking with the official number, 20). Starting with the 2024 vintage, Laudun AOC has now been approved for red and white wine production (Rose is not part of the new AOC). Covering the vineyards of Laudun-l’Ardoise, Treques and Saint-Victor-la-Coste, on the right bank of the Rhone; west of Chateauneuf Du Pape, and north of Lirac and Tavel.
The bottle I have today is a 2022 vintage, so one of the last years where it would be sold as Cotes du Rhone Villages. Going forward, I presume they’ll be labeling this as Laudun instead. This is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Counoise, and the vines are 50+ years old. It comes in at a hefy 14.5% ABV and 4g/l.
On the nose, there’s a lot of intense fruit. Think berry jam. With some clove and black pepper rounding it out. There’s a lot of concentration.
In the mouth, this is an incredibly fruity wine. Not sweet, but very smooth and full bodied.
On the finish, there’s a bit of acidity providing some levity and some notable tannins. Not really flabby by any means despite the rich fruit.
If you like a rich, jammy south rhone, this is a great one. It’s incredibly drinkable, and I can easily knock back a few glasses while watching TV or something and not notice until I get drunk.
I paid $20 CAD for this bottle, and for this price, it is killer. Now true, this is technically still Cotes du Rhone villages, so I don’t know how the pricing will change a year or two later when it becomes Laudun AOC. But if I’m judging by the other recently promoted crus like Vinosobres or Cairanne, getting promoted to cru status probably isn’t going to do too much to increase pricing.
I’ve only had 2 Lauduns in recent memory, and I fully understand the futility of trying to extrapolate a trend from a sample of 2. But I do think that Laudun deserves its status as a cru as these bottles are notably better than most average Cotes du Rhone Villages.
So I think the advice I’d give people shopping in the Rhone nowadays is – If you’re shopping for a bottle of Rhone on a whim, just go for the cheaper crus. Laudun, Cairanne, Vinosobres, Lirac, and the like. These crus are maybe a couple of dollars more than Cote Du Rhone Villages. The average quality of these cres are still notably higher than the average quality of Cote du Rhone Villages. For example, at my government liquor store, 1 producer has their Cotes du Rhone listed at $19.95 and their Lirac is $24.95 (their Vacqueryras is $34.55). Or another producer has their Cotes du Rhone listed at $18.95, their Cairanne is only $19.95, while their Chateauneuf-du-Pape is $49.95. The price gap is small enough that I think almost always think going for the cru is worth it.