Domaine de L'Obrieu Cuvee les Antonins Visan 2010 / 750 ml.

Cotes du Rhone is the official name of the Rhone Valley. If you see it on a bottle of wine, that typically means it comes from the southern half of the Rhone Valley (since most Northern Rhones are classified as "Cru" and sold at higher prices under the names of their villages). The Cotes du Rhone appellation is best suited to red wines, and that's where a bulk of the area's wine production lies.

Located along the path of the Rhone River, the Rhone wine region in southeastern France is beautiful and very productive. It's typically divided into two sub-regions, the Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone, and the wines produced in these sub-regions are very different from one another.

The southern Rhone is warm and dry, and produces robust, full-flavored red wines, oftentimes blends with Grenache used as the primary grape. Chateauneuf-du-Pape is without question the most celebrated town for wine production in the Southern Rhone region.

Meanwhile, the Northern Rhone features a cooler climate and steep-sloped vineyards. Syrah is the dominant red grape, and the wines are typically tannic, deeply colored, and highly acidic wines (which leads them to get better with age).

The French did not invent winemaking. They simply perfected it. For centuries, France has been producing wines that inspire poetry, awe, and wonder; wines that blur the lines between nature, craftsmanship, cuisine and art. These are the wines that inspired cultures around the globe to follow in France’s footsteps, planting Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Grenache, Merlot, Semillon and more.

Yet as often as they are emulated, the magic of their terroirs can never be duplicated. You may taste Cabernet from around the world, but perhaps none as elegant and regal as Bordeaux. You may try Pinot Noir or Chardonnay from various climates, but none with the earth-bound soul and ethereal reach of Burgundy.