The Grignan-Les Adhemar AOC (formerly the Côteaux du Tricastin) is the northernmost wine-growing AOC in the southern area of the

Rhône wine The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône valley and produces numerous wines under various ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) designations. The region's major appellation in production volume is Côtes du Rhôn ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The wines are produced in 21 communes in the department of

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

on the east bank of the Rhône River in a triangle bounded by

Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (; ), sometimes known as -en-Tricastin, is a commune, an administrative region, in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Name The settlement is attested as ''Augusta Tricastinorum'' (1st c. AD), ''Trikastinoi ...

Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine dialect, Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; ) is a town in the Drôme Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in t ...

, and Grignan; opposite the

Côtes du Vivarais AOC Côtes du Vivarais () is a wine-growing AOC in the northwestern extreme of the southern Rhône wine region of France. The wines are produced in 9 communes of the Ardèche department, and in 5 communes of the department of the Gard. The regi ...

on the right bank. the vineyards straddle both the true

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and the continental climatic regions where in this part of France the transition is rapid, winter snow being frequent in Montélimar but rare some 20 - 30 kilometres further south. In this transitional area between the northern and southern Rhône wine regions that constitutes the northern limit of the Provence, the climate in Baume-le-Transit and St Paul are more typically

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

than the slightly cooler areas dominated by the Lance mountain.Inter Rhône
Retrieved 19 January 2010 According to archeological finds, particularly the remains of the largest Roman wine villa in Donzère dating from the 1st century BC, wine has been produced in the region since the antiquity. Tricastin wines were mentioned in the writings of the Marquise de Sevigné in the 16th century. The wines were accorded an AOVDQS on 19 March 1964, and were awarded their AOC on 27 July 1973.

Wines

A characteristic of the wines from this appellation is their great diversity due to the many and mixed soil types and varied climates. The central part of the region comprises sandstone hills, while the southeast is covered with stones or gravel. The west is mainly alluvial soil with calcairous stones, and the north is covered with large glacial pebbles. Red wines which comprise 95% of the total production, are made from the principal varieties of Grenache noir and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

(10% minimum), with secondary varieties of Cinsault,

Mourvèdre Mourvèdre (; also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world. It is found in the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla '' denominaciones de or ...

Carignan Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

. No single variety may be present at more than 80%. A non defined quantity of secondary varieties must not exceed 30%, or if declared separately, not more than 15% each. Rosé: The same varieties in the same permitted proportions are used as for the red. White wines are produced from Grenache blanc,

Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

, Clairette blanc, Marsanne,

, and

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu AOC, Condrieu in the Rhone Valley (wine), Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition, p. 754, Oxford Univers ...

. No variety may be present in excess of 60% All wines must contain a minimum of 11% alcohol.

Economy

The Grignan-Les Adhemar wines are produced by a total of 324 concerns which include 307 growers, 49 private wineries, 13 cooperative wineries, and 8 producer/merchants. INAO statistics show that in 2007, 94,961 hectolitres were produced from 2,566 cultivated at an average yield of 52

hectolitre The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cub ...

s per

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

. The wines are produced in 21 communes of the

département at the northern limit of the Provence: Allan, Baume de Transit, Chamaret, Chantemerle-lès-Grignan, Châteauneuf-du-Rhône, Clansayes, Comonzelle, Donzère, Garde-Adhémar, Granges-Gontardes, Grignan,

Malataverne Malataverne (; ) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Nicolas Appert *Communes of the Drôme department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comu ...

, Montségur-sur-Lauzon, Reauville, Roche-Saint-Secret-Béconne, Roussas,

, Saint Restitut, Salles-sous-Bois, Solérieux, Valaurie.

Name change

Following an accident at the

Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant The Tricastin Nuclear Power Plant () is a nuclear power plant consisting of 4 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of CP1 type with 915 MW electrical power output each. The power plant is located in the south of France (Drôme and Vaucluse Depa ...

in July 2008, when uranium was released, the sale of Coteaux du Tricastin wine decreased. The wine growers therefore wished to change the name of the appellation to something without "Tricastin", to avoid being associated with the nuclear power plant. In June 2010, INAO signalled its intention to allow a name change to ''Grignan-Les Adhemar'' effective from the 2010 vintage.Nuclear neighbour prompts name change for Tricastin
Decanter 2010-06-11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grignan Les Adhemar Aoc Rhône wine AOCs 1973 establishments in France