UK buyers discover the diversity of Rhône’s Beaumes-de-Venise
If there is a more enchanting region to make wine than Beaumes-de-Venise in the heart of the southern Rhône Valley, I would like to see it. Overlooked by the striking Dentelles de Montmirail peaks, limestone outcrops from the Jurassic era, the sloping vineyards of this tiny southern Rhône cru and its five picture postcard villages possess a classical beauty. Throw in a mosaic of complex soils, altitudes as high as 600m, highly competitive pricing and a band of talented young winemakers, and you have all the ingredients for a compelling story to underpin a push to export more of their AOC Beaumes-de-Venise red wines. That was also what greeted a group of leading UK wine buyers who visited the region recently to see what potential Beaumes-de-Venise wines have for the UK market as part of a buying trip hosted by The Buyer in partnership with Inter Rhône and AOC Beaumes-de-Venise. Geoffrey Dean travelled with them to shine a much deserved spotlight on this fascinating up and coming region of the Rhône Valley.
10th November 2025 by Geoffrey Dean
Beaumes-de-Venise’s world-class Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs), sweet wines fortified to 15%, aka AOC Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, might be what the region is best known for, but as we discovered during an intense three days of tasting there is so much more to discover and explore about this beguiling part of the southern Rhône Valley.
It was certainly an eye opener for a group of UK wine buyers who were invited to see Beaumes-de-Venise and what it can offer for themselves, most of whom had not been to the area before.
The Buyer was able to invite a group of leading UK wine buyers out to Beaumes-de-Venise to discover the wines and producers of this beautiful region
Joining me on this mini tour of discovery was: Sarah Birch, Vagabond Wines; Rory Sutherland, Good Brothers Wine Group; William Stephens, Nectar and Asahi Wines; Greg Sherwood MW, Museum Wines; Berfin Cicek, Novel Wines; Kate Goodman, Reserve Wines.
To really understand what Beaumes-de-Venise can offer now, you need to understand and appreciate its illustrious history. Which brings us back to its VDNs, which received Cru status as long ago as 1945, and was served at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. That same year, Baron Le Roy, founder of INAO, hailed it “nectar of gods”, and in the late 1990s, the wine became one of the first French products to be awarded the title of ‘Site Remarquable du Gout’ (‘remarkable site of taste’).
A few years later, in 2005, Cru status was at last conferred on Beaumes-de-Venise red wine. This must be an assemblage of at least 50% Grenache and 25% Syrah, with other Rhône varieties permitted such as Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Counoise. White varietals like Viognier, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc can also be added but must make up no more than 10% of the blend.
In practice, the majority of producers stick with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Currently, the INAO is still considering the AOC’s application in 2022 to include dry white wines under the same Cru designation.
More on the Vins Doux Naturels later, but the AOC’s red wines, of which we tasted more than 30, would appear to tick all the boxes for the UK on and off-trade.
These include zippy freshness, alluring fruit, medium body, silky tannins, finesse and, above all, high quality at very appealing price points. The producers’ ‘conservatoire’, or association, proclaims its desire “to strengthen its brand image, attract new customers and increase the loyalty of existing customers, while highlighting the quality and uniqueness of its wines”.
Geological diversity
The uniqueness of Beaumes-de-Venise’s terroir lies in its complex geological diversity, with four soil types: Triassic red earth, grey Jurassic earth, Cretaceous white earth and blond Miocene earth.
The emergence of the Dentelles de Montmirail brought the Triassic deposits to the surface around the village of Suzette, whose soils are ideal for Syrah, providing richness, suppleness and longevity. Grey Jurassic earth is found north of the village of Lafare, being made up of silt, clay and sand which is perfect for Grenache.
Cretaceous white earth around the village of La Roque-Alric, with its marly clay-limestone soil, is good for both Syrah and Grenache, which are grown on terraces, or ‘banquettes’, that boost groundwater retention. Blond Miocene earth’s clay-sand soils are best for Muscat, providing finesse, freshness and floral aromas. This blend of soil types gives Beaumes-de-Venise wines distinctive complexity and balance.
Thomas and Sophie Julien at La Ferme Saint-Martin
Muscat à petits grains blancs, the most distinguished variation of the Muscat family, loves the heat (a feature of the appellation), and is grown at the lower end of it, notably around the villages of Beaumes-de-Venise and Aubignan. Black grapes, though, are planted higher up around Lafare, La Roque-Alric and Suzette.
With stunning views of Suzette as well as the Alpilles massif and the Montagne de Luberon are two impressive estates, Domaine La Ferme Saint-Martin and Domaine Saint-Amant. The former’s ‘Les Terres Jaunes’ AOC Beaumes de Venise ’22, which contains some Terret and Counoise in the blend, has fresh red fruit and supple tannins, and is imported by Les Caves de Pyrene.
Camille and Eloise Nosworthy at Domaine Saint-Amant
Saint-Amant, certified organic since last year, is unusual in having a mother and daughter winemaking team of Camille and Eloise Nosworthy. Their Grangeneuve AOC Beaumes-de-Venise ’22 showed especially well, with a cépage of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 15% Carignan and 5% Viognier from vines with an average age of 50 years. Fermented and aged in old foudres, it is imported by both the Wine Society and Richard Harvey Wines.
Henri and Gaetan Leydier at Domaine Durban
At Domaine Durban, meanwhile, can be found the father and son winemaking team of Henri and Gaetan Leydier, who produce fine examples of both Vin Doux Naturel and red Cru labels. These are imported into the UK by Yapp Brothers, Thorman Hunt and Anthony Byrne Fine Wines. Its AOC Beaumes-de-Venise ’22 Vieilles Vignes is made from 65-year old vines yielding 25 hl/ha and aged in concrete. A 2005 AOC Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise that the Leydiers opened showed how well VDNs can age, retaining freshness but exhibiting notes of nuts, dried fruits, caramel, toffee and spices.
Talking of aged VDNs, Rhonéa, the prominent local co-operative producing nine million bottles per annum from 300 growers in the southern Rhône, has an enticing aged Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise VDN named ‘Bois Doré 6 Ans d’Age’. This is aged for six years before release, and has exotic nutty and honeyed notes.
“People really enjoy it,” says Sophie Steinloff, Rhonéa's export manager. “I am very keen to increase our exports to the UK where I want to grow the Rhonéa brands to the on-trade. Waitrose has another label of ours, a Rasteau, but not a Beaumes-de-Venise. We are totally ready for increased exports and have the logistics although I want the right partner.”
Exciting future
Which is what the UK buyers were there to do. Look, taste, explore and discover what wines could work in the UK.
Thierry Vaute, owner of Domaine de la Pigeade whose VDN used to be in British Airways first-class, admitted that Rhonéa had been an unwelcome competitor to smaller wineries like his, but not any more.
“There was competition with the co-op but now we are all together,” he says. “I would like to increase exports to UK which has not been a big market for me, although Castelnau Wine Agencies have my VDN and my red. The difficulty is to be interesting for the importers, and they say the largest range is best, with several Rhône appellations the way to
find a new market. But my heart beats for Beaumes-de-Venise as I am native here. Now we have so many young wine growers, which is very encouraging for the future. They are very invested in the region - much more than my generation.”
Romain Hall at Domaine des Bernardins
Domaine des Bernardins, arguably the best-known producer in the appellation, has an outstanding range that is imported by both Thorman Hunt and the Wine Society. Romain Hall, whose family have owned the estate since 1820, is a seventh generation winemaker, with his great-grandfather Louis Castaud having been instrumental in securing Cru status in 1945.
At the winery’s tasting room, bottles of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise dating back to 1898 grace the back wall, and the family even have an 1842 tucked away safely. His contemporary version is unusual in that it is made up of 75% Muscat à petits grains blancs and 25% Muscat à petits grains noirs.
One of the keys to making top quality AOC Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is the timing of ‘mutage’ which is the addition of neutral alcoholic spirit (96% abv) to stop the fermentation. Often this is best carried out in the middle of the night.
“You have only one hour to get it right, so it is critical,” stresses Hall. “It all depends on the level of residual sugar, which will be between 100-120g/l. We will add a minimum of 5% and a maximum of 10% neutral alcoholic spirit.”
Some wineries produce both a red and a rosé VDN AOC Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise from Muscat à petits grains noirs. Made in tiny quantities - the red totalling just 1% of production and the rose 6% - these are rarely exported and are something of a local secret. Hall also makes a dry Muscat that showed very well.
Seeking distribution
A number of other producers seeking UK distribution likewise unfurled some superb examples of white VDNs and red Cru wines. Justine Soard, who along with her cousin Valentin and uncle Vincent is a co-owner of Domaine de Fenouillet, revealed she is keen to get both labels into the UK market, having formerly sold the sweet Muscat through Bibendum until three years ago. Her excellent organically-farmed AOC Beaumes-de-Venise ‘Terres Blanches’ label is a best-seller locally.
“We are a new generation of wine producers,” she says. “We can make a group and promote the appellation.”
Xavier Théo, vigneron of Domaine Raboly
One name that few will be familiar with, but who is a potential star in the making is Xavier Théo, vigneron of Domaine Raboly. He has never exported any of his wine, and makes only Cru reds and declassified Vermentino from 21 hectares of vines inherited from his father and grandparents that include 86-year old Grenache vines as well as Syrah, Mourvèdre and Cinsault.
“We are in Beaumes-de-Venise itself with soils of sand but no clay,” he says. “That leads to a lot of freshness. I do a very soft vinification with no punchdown, only pumpovers.”
Whatever he does, he does it brilliantly, revealing that he spends 80% of his time in his vineyards.
Florence Cartier winemaker at Domaine Les Goubert
Another winemaker with star quality is Florence Cartier, whose Domaine Les Goubert AOC Côtes-du-Rhône and Gigondas labels have been imported by Jascots Wine Merchants. She, too, would like to find a UK distributor for her AOC Beaumes-de-Venise, which is generous yet well-balanced with velvety tannins.
Jerome Petitjean at Domaine Cassan
We encountered several other wineries with a foot in several southern Rhône appellations that are keen to get AOC Beaumes-de-Venise wines into the UK. These included Domaine de Piéblanc, Domaine Saint-Roch, Domaine La Ligière and Domaine Cassan.
The latter’s owner-winemaker, Jérôme Petitjean crafts three very good AOC Beaumes-de-Venise labels, with his ‘Tradition’ 2023 a 90:10 Grenache/Syrah split and his flagship ‘Félibrige’ 2020 a 50:50 blend that had both power and elegance. Domaine de Cassan, a beautiful spot where it was a pleasure to stay, has half a dozen bedrooms.
Domaine La Ligière’s owners, the Bernard family, have worked the soils around Gigondas and Vacqueyras since 1800, but only in 2010 when they built a state-of-the-art winery did they make their own wine rather than send their fruit to the co-op. Robersons take their wines from those two appellations but Elizabeth Bernard, and husband Philippe, would like to get both their VDN and red Cru labels into the UK market.
“Could cocktails with sweet Muscat wine be something for the young customer in the UK?” Elizabeth asks. “I think in the minds of young consumers you must change what they think of Muscat Vin Doux Naturel as they say it’s the wine of their grandmother. Cans of it in cocktails are selling well here in pubs and bars. But we need bar staff to suggest the idea to drinkers.”
With all dessert wines battling against the headwinds of lower consumption globally, Beaumes-de-Venise VDN producers know they face a challenge. While their Muscats remain among the world’s great sweet wines, their Cru reds are still something of a hidden gem. Awareness of them is at last growing, however, with the British market showing increasing appreciation of both their quality and value for money.
Our group of UK buyers came home enchanted and entranced with the wines and producers they were able to meet. Some of whom may well soon be joining them in the UK.
Buyers’ views
Greg Sherwood, Museum Wines
What was your knowledge of the region before going?
Interestingly, Beaumes de Venise was one of the first French wine regions I visited on my return to Europe from South Africa in 2000. Coming five years before the appellation changes in 2005, the region was firmly dominated by sweet Muscat wines with red wines very much an afterthought - the red wines living in the shadow of more notable up and coming villages like Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Sablet, etc. I knew it was beautiful as a region and incredibly complex geologically, having hiked the Dentelle de Montmirail trails… which normally means it should be perfect red wine terroir as well.
What would be your overall summary of the wines and producers you met and tasted in terms of quality and styles of wine?
I honestly felt we tasted a truly representative cross section of producers, not just ‘cherry-picked’ premium boutique wines. My impressions were overwhelmingly positive, with some incredible red blends, some deliciously iconic sweet Muscats, and also some lively and highly aspirational white wines. I knew the top producers would have their sweet wine styles nailed down tightly after years of focus, but I was not prepared or expecting the exceptional quality encountered with almost all the red wines. A real eye opener. Producers were passionate and quality focused with a real attention to detail, knowing that the global market is now firmly looking at quality and not quantity – even when it comes to more affordable Southern Rhône wines.
Which styles and price points do you think are best suited to your business/ or another part of the UK wine market?
For the UK market, there is definitely a significant opportunity for the red blends focusing on Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. Most interestingly for me, despite the 14 to 15 % alcohol levels on the wines, they all retained incredible purity, freshness and focus more in keeping with wines that are 13 or 13.5% abv. But the limestone soils and altitude definitely bring something special to the wines.
In the wider wine market, there is undoubtedly plenty of interest in the UK for the £16.99 to £22.99 price point wines that should see consumers getting a very accomplished wine showing fruit purity, concentration, and structure.
In the more premium end of the trade where I operate, there is also a big opportunity for more ‘niche’ single vineyard, single site, lieu dit – style wines from old vines and unique historic sites. Fine wine consumers want stories and history loaded with interesting vineyard and winemaking details… not just simply good quality.
Any thoughts on what you would like to see the producers doing with their wines to make them more competitive/ relevant for the UK?
On the most part, producers’ ex-cellar pricing seemed to be reasonable for the quality on offer. I don’t think the UK market will have too many gripes about pricing or quality.
The larger co-operative operations might need to fine tune some of the larger production wines slightly to hit key price points for wider wholesale distributors, but this would all be part and parcel of finding a sweet spot where better volumes could be moved. The UK market is highly competitive and congested, yet it is always looking for something new with a point of difference.
Beaumes-de-Venise has it all… the Côtes du Rhône label, the Southern Rhône regional pull, recognisable cultivars in their blends and appealing, high-quality styles of wine.
Spearheading promotions in the UK in small groups, “strength in numbers” is definitely the way to go to raise the profile of this region. Oh, and definitely offer the Muscat sweet wines in half bottle… it’s a no brainer!