Vinsobres

The Vinsobres appellation d'origine contrôlée covers around 1,000 hectares, exclusively in the commune of Vinsobres, on 7 km of slopes in the Drôme department. The Vinsobres terroir is based on soils of stony marl on the hillsides, sandy marl on the slopes, and stony Quaternary alluvium on the terraces, and benefits from a Mediterranean climate, protected from the Mistral and Alpine influences by the nearby relief.

Historically, the Vinsobres vineyard was rather modest in size (484 hectares in 1956). After the frost of 1956, the vine replaced the olive tree and grew considerably, reaching its current size of 1,000 hectares. Vinsobres was classified as a Côtes-du-Rhône in 1937, then as a Côtes-du-Rhône Vinsobres in 1957 (for all three colors), and in 1966 became one of the first Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. Vinsobres obtained local appellation status in 2005 for red wine only. The cru's potential production area remains limited to around 450 hectares. Vinsobres wines are blends of Grenache and Syrah. The quality of the Vinsobres offered by Maison Perrin et Fils is particularly noteworthy.