Saint-Peray is a small appellation for still and sparkling white wines from the Saint-Peray and Toulaud parishes of the northern Rhone valley. According to the French government's 2005 statistics, the wines claiming the appellation AOC Saint-Peray are made from a total of only 143 acres (58ha) of vineyards, producing around 45,000 gallons (1700hL) per year.
(© Christophe Grilhé)
Being an area of sparkling wine production, Saint-Peray stands out among its neighbors. The northern Rhone is known for heavier, still wines (both red and white); the production of sparkling wines is otherwise left to the producers of the southern Rhone, and the specialists of Die in the east, with their Cremant de Die and Clairette de Die wines. But here in the heart of the northern Rhone, Saint-Peray produces lighter-bodied sparkling wines in the methode traditionelle. Due to the immediate local topography, the climate here is not as hot as most locations in the Rhone valley, and the limestone-rich soils in parts of Saint-Peray add to this temperature-moderating effect. This explains in some part the relatively light style of most of Saint-Peray's wines.
The Marsanne and Roussanne grapes grown here do not make particularly fine wines, which may be why the sparkling styles have been adopted. A comparison might be made with the cool, damp Champagne region, whose sparkling wine style distracts from the higher acidity and under-ripe flavors often present in its grapes. As in Champagne, an increasing number of Saint-Peray wines are fermented and even aged in oak barrels to add complexity. Of course, prior to the introduction of stainless steel in French winemaking in the 1960s, all sparkling wines were fermented in this way. Unlike Champagne, however, Saint-Peray's warmer vineyard sites produce richly flavored still wines in addition to sparkling wines – a far cry from the highly acidic, thinly textured Coteaux Champenois.
Geographically, Saint-Peray is impressive. The small town, and some of its vineyards, are located on an alluvial plateau traced by a gentle bend in the Rhone river. It is hemmed in by the vertiginous Crussol ridge, rising steeply from the western side of the plateau, on top of which stands the ruined 13th-century Crussol castle, overlooking the vineyards below. The slopes of the ridge are too steep even for the most daring viticulture, with or without terracing.
Granite has been identified as being a valuable part of many Rhone terroirs, as it is an efficient heat retainer, provides rapid drainage and is of low fertility, which forces the vines to form deep, strong root systems. While granitic soils are not as prevalent in Saint-Peray as they are in the vineyards of Cornas just 1 mile (1.5 km) to the north, they can be found there in some of the gentler slopes just to the west of the Crussol. It is on these slopes that grapes for the richer, more richly flavored Saint-Peray wines are grown.
