The most northerly and one of the oldest APPELLATIONS in France’s RHÔNE region. Its name means “roasted slope,” and it consists of 300 acres of sunbaked vineyards, most of which are located on the steep hillside above the village of Ampuis near the town of Vienne, south of Lyon. The vineyards are built on terraces so narrow and steep that tending and harvesting the vineyards must be done manually. There are two sections that produce the best wines—one with lighter-colored soil called Côte Blonde and one with darker soil called Côte Brune. Legend has it that Maugiron, a nobleman in this area, gave one of the two sections to his blond daughter and the other section to his brunette daughter and that over time the two sections took on the traits of their perspective owners. Côte-Rôtie produces only red wines made from SYRAH, with up to 20 percent of the white grape VIOGNIER in the blend. The wines are noted for their exotic fragrance, deep color, RICH, spicy flavor, and full BODY. Most of the better Côte-Rôtie wines will age easily for 10 or more years.