'These are the best wines to buy from the Rhône from Waitrose, Tesco and M&S'

This is a region that can provide great value easy drinking wines, with aromas that have all the bramble fruit and spice of autumn, and a palate that can sit alongside a warming casserole or a plate of sausages.

If you decide to climb the quality ladder, then the wines expand in flavour, gathering complexity, depth and a spicy earthiness that can partner the richest of autumn foods.

Navigating the various names and villages of the Rhône is not easy, so here are a few pointers to find the right wine for your budget.

There are two parts to the Rhône wine region. The north, from Vienne to Montélimar is the home of Syrah, where fabulous wines such as Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage and St Joseph are made.

But this accounts for just five per cent of the whole production of the Rhône valley.

The rest is in the South where vineyards spread out across rolling hills and valleys.

Here wines such as Côtes-du-Rhône, Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages, Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape are produced, but for today I want to focus on Côtes-du-Rhône and its villages, and the various levels of quality which has seen promotion of some villages up the scale to their own appellations.

This is a region that is populated by hundreds of farmers, who mostly manage to farm their hillside of vines, and probably their olive trees too, but only a few actually make the wines themselves.

The real work of converting the majority of grapes into wine is done by the co-operatives, many of which were started in the post war years.

Sometimes it is fashionable to criticise the co-operatives, probably because they don’t look pretty from the outside, but over the years these co-ops have provided the economic structure to produce quality wine for their region.

They have highly trained winemakers, top-notch equipment and teams of specialist viticulturalists who tour their area, advising farmers on the best way to look after their crops.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I visited the Côtes-du-Rhône region, and I was impressed by the co-op system which not only provides winemaking facilities but also works with the farmers to improve quality across the region.

There is a simple system to show the quality of its wines. Côtes-du-Rhône is the basic appellation for the wines of the region with strict rules about yields and quality.

Then, if the quality is good enough over several years, a community may be allowed to call their wines Côtes-du-Rhône villages. So far 95 villages are in that group.

Much more exclusive is the group of just 22 villages that are allowed to annex their name to Côtes-du-Rhône Villages. Valréas and Séguret are part of that group and the delightful village of Nyons is the latest to be accepted.

Eventually the ultimate accolade is for a village to be promoted to the point where they are allowed to fly the nest of Côtes-du-Rhône and become appellations in their own right.

Gigondas was one of the first to climb the quality ladder becoming an appellation back in 1971, while Laudun is the latest, becoming a cru in 2024.

While Côtes-du-Rhône can be red white or rosé, it is the red wines that come into their own at this time of year.

With a mix of grapes including Grenache Noir, Syrah, Carignan, and Mourvèdre this is a wine that varies widely from different producers.

Here are some of the best.

Specially Selected Côtes-du-Rhône 2024, Aldi £7.69: Mainly Grenache with a substantial splash of Syrah gives this wine soft, rounded, red plum and blackcurrant fruit, and enough weight to stand up to a flavoursome casserole.

The Best Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet 2024, Morrisons £9.75: From the village of Sablet which has been allowed to attach its name to Côtes-du-Rhône Villages for over 50 years.

This shows its quality with dark red fruits, and a gravelly, minerally style that goes well with roast meat.

Vinsobres Cru des Côtes-du-Rhône 2023, Asda £10: This comes from the northern part of the Côtes-du-Rhône region, where some vineyards have so many pebbles that they look like a beach or a river bed.

This all helps give character to the wine which shows in its warm, rounded, damson and bramble fruit with a streak of spice and a steak-friendly finish.

Les Trois Couronnes Vinsobres 2023, Waitrose down from £15 to £10 until November 24: Dash to Waitrose and clear the shelves of this deep, chunky, concentrated wine, full of ripe, dark plums and bramble fruit, edged with spice and smooth, rounded tannins.

Vinsobres graduated to Cru status twenty years ago and it shows its quality in the glass.

Classics Organic Côtes-du-Rhône Villages 2025, Marks and Spencer £10: M&S have a perfectly acceptable Côtes-du-Rhône for £7.50, but if you step up to this £10 wine, you will taste the difference.

This is a blend of Grenache and Syrah with seven per cent Mourvèdre which gives deep-flavoured, damson and blackberry fruit with a definite twist of pepper and a finish that can handle a plate of Cumberland sausages.

Gabriel Allard Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge 2025, Majestic £10 on a mix six deal: This comes from the splendid Sinnae co-operative, in the village of Laudun on the left bank of the Rhône river.

The viticulturalists here select certain vineyards for particular blends which means that this Côtes-du-Rhône carries the identity of the region in its flavour.

With a big chunk of Syrah in the blend, this has personality as well as chunky, spice-edged fruit.

Famille Perrin Côtes-du-Rhône 2024, Tesco down from £13 to £11 until December 31: The Perrin family is the leading producer of organic wines in the Rhône, and what they don’t produce organically, they use sustainable eco-friendly methods. This is a well-made Côtes-du-Rhône, full of plump cherry and blueberry fruit, with enough structure to cope with a hearty supper.

Guigal Côtes-du-Rhône, 2023, Majestic £12 on a mix six deal: With a lot more Syrah in the mix than most Côtes-du-Rhônes, the flavours in this wine stands head and shoulders above much of the competition.

It has delicious, deep-flavoured, ripe, spicy flavours and will see you through autumn and into next year.