Over the past few months, a new currency has been adopted in the sleepy village of Broughton Gifford and its surrounding hamlets. This came as a result of all the juggling that goes on in getting small children to and from where they should be.  Those of you who do this on a regular basis will know that, from time to time, it requires the calling-in of favours from other parents – this originally loose arrangement is now negotiated and supported by Yapp wine.

So, how does it work? The base currency and exchange rate is roughly 2 hours of childcare for one bottle of Lirac: La Fermade 2005 from La Famille Maby which, at £9.95 a bottle, is excellent value both in childcare and wine terms. Extra half hours of childminding can be arranged with different wines and vintages – it appears the Côtes du Rhône: Cuvée Personelle 2000 gets an extra hour when compared to Côtes du Rhône: Saint Gayan 2007. I’ve yet to broach how long we’d get for some Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau: Saint Gayan 2006 – one of my personal favourites.

The upshot of all this activity is that now, outside the school gates and the village hall, you’ll overhear parents discussing the merits of the Catalan Carignan 2007 and its 130 year old vines and how the Lirac 2005 is a little smoother than the 2007.

The big question next time we get to venture out will be – shall I “cash in” my very small number of Brézème: Eugène de Monicault 2004 bottles for a babysitter or stay in and drink in style – I suspect I already know the answer to that one.

9am on Monday 20^th July and I found myself sweeping through the most northerly outpost of the named Côtes du Rhône Villages, Rousset-les-Vignes.  Eighteen villages are entitled to add their ‘handle’ to the Côtes du Rhône Villages moniker, marking them out as superior to generic Côtes du Rhône.  As I swept past gnarled vines and lavender fields I regrettably had no time to discover any local gems or to consider why nearby Vinsobres had gained an upgrade to full AOC status (2005), yet Valreas had not – was their topography so different?  I scanned the landscape then came to my senses and realised I’d only gained about 45 minutes on the infamous ‘broom wagon’.

I had entered into the Etape du Tour, a one day event that has been running for two decades and which allows amateur riders (8,500 of them this year) to tackle a stage of the vrai Tour de France with roads closed, feed stations et al.  Sportingly the organisers had picked the 170km journey from Montélimar (gateway to the Southern Rhône) to Mont Ventoux, the infamous Géant of Provence.  Nine-tenths of the route unfolded through the stunning countryside of the Drôme and the Vaucluse and, on another day, would have made for a very pleasant means of working up an appetite for (and riding off) a long lunch.  On this occasion, Ventoux (literally) loomed large all day and the 21km climb to its summit in 37 degree heat was the sting in the tail that many had feared.  Nevertheless, I finished in nine and a half hours without a broom wagon in sight.  The views from the summit and the elation of completing the stage were just about worth the ascent.  The ‘maillot jaune’, Alberto Contador, completed the ride five days later in half my time!

François Perrin at Château Beaucastel

After touching down in Marseilles and picking up a hire-car, our first port of call was Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf du Pape, conveniently located adjacent to the Autoroute du Soleil just south of Orange. Here, winemaking legend François Perrin conducted us on a tour of his extensive, pristine and recently renovated cellars before indulging us in a comprehensive tasting of the entire Perrin canon. All of the wines were impressive, even the entry-level La Vieille Ferme offerings. Space precludes writing too much here but noteworthy points are that the Perrins were early pioneers of organics (they have farmed without pesticides since 1960), they champion Roussanne and Mourvèdre respectively as important (and underrated) grapes in their white and red Châteauneuf du Pape and that the 2007 vintage has yielded cracking wines across the Southern Rhône. Interestingly, François observed that vintage variation is more significant for their humbler Côtes du Rhônes than their flagship wines, as these wines rely more on natural conditions than manipulation in the cellar. [Note to self: stock up on 2007 Côtes du Rhônes and Côte du Rhône Villages].

Our next stop was with another renowned Châteauneuf du Pape producer, Lucien Michel, at Le Vieux Donjon. Lucien is a man of few words preferring to let his charming wife Marie-José front the operation and his wines speak for themselves. However he does become animated when discussing vineyard politics or hunting, both of which are subjects close to his heart.  Here, the soon to be bottled 2007 was hugely impressive with a wealth of juicy black fruit and ripe tannins and the newly bottled white 2008 showed youthful promise.