New AOC in the Southern Rhone

From Decanter:

Rasteau in the southern Rhône has been elevated to AOC status, appellations body the INAO announced this month

The commune has been promoted from Côtes du Rhône Villages, with the designation backdated to cover the 2009 vintage.

With 75% of vineyards on hillsides rising between 500 and 1000 feet, Rasteau, with its smooth, stone covered clay-limestone terraces, has been long considered a top red Côtes du Rhône Villages wine, an AOC that was granted in 1966.

Rasteau's application to be elevated to a specific AOC as a dry red wine has taken almost a decade to be approved.

The winegrowers' syndicate requested it 2002, but experts from a board of inquiry studied the vineyards and excluding some 100 hectares from the current 1300 before granting the status, according to a press release.

Full link at http://www.decanter.com/news/299625.html.

Prepare for prices of Rasteau to go up...

Cairrane has been a favorite for upgrade for a long time, but apparently the growers there don't want it upgraded, because when AOC's are granted they tend to be somewhat larger than the traditional boundaries of the village in question, and the growers of Cairrane don't want lesser vineyards included. Apparently Cairrane was actually the first in the world to impose a kind of appellation system on itself, in the 16th or 17th century, so they have a very long tradition of protecting quality.

The upshot is that while I consider Cairrane on equal footing with Gigondas, they are priced more reasonably. I've never had Rasteau, but I imagine the fear of escalating processes is justified.

The commune has been promoted from Côtes du Rhône Villages, with the designation backdated to cover the 2009 vintage.

Thanks for the heads-up. That's good news for Rasteau. Still bad news for the 2000's Soumade that I have, 'coz they'll still taste like the old designation.

I don't think it's going to affect prices. The quality is already in the price, and AOC designation is not going to change that. Or as grand-dad used to say "All the Rhone Villages are created equal, but some are more equal than others."

I tend to agree with Dave on this. It's also worth noting that Rasteau winemakers have been able to put Rasteau on their bottles (just as Cairanne vignerons can -- take note of the spelling, Ryan) for close to a decade now, IIRC, so AOC status only gets rid of the CdRV designation and adds the AOC label. That'll probably affect prices in France more than it does in the US.

Mark Lipton

I tend to agree with Dave on this. It's also worth noting that Rasteau winemakers have been able to put Rasteau on their bottles (just as Cairanne vignerons can -- take note of the spelling, Ryan) for close to a decade now, IIRC, so AOC status only gets rid of the CdRV designation and adds the AOC label. That'll probably affect prices in France more than it does in the US.

Mark Lipton

Try two and a half decades plus, Mark. Kermit was bringing in Rasteau from Trignon from as early as '81 vintage, maybe even before.

You guys seem to assume that price increases are based on rational thought processes - where have you been over the last ten years?!?

But seriously, I would imagine that producers will start looking at pricing their Rasteau wines over the normal CdR-Villages wines and towards the Vacqueyras pricing first. I hope not, but isn't that what normally happens when new AOCs are created? Otherwise, why bother pursuing AOC status for so long?