Wine - Roger Scruton takes a tour of the Rhone Valley

One of the great blessings conferred by wine is the kind of inward familiarity with a place and its history that obviates the need to go there.

The ecological damage done by the tourist trade is therefore rectified by the trade in wine. Why go all the way to the mysterious hill of Hermitage, when you can stay at home with a bottle of Chevalier de Sterimberg and contemplate that sublime Wagnerian name?

First planted by Greek colonists in the fourth century BC, the vineyards of the Rhone are an epitome of French history. Any of their names would merit a two-page sentence in Proust, and the tastes are as rich as the names. Alas, the best northern Rhone wines are now as expensive as Burgundies - and justifiably so. The reds are made from the Syrah grape, sometimes mixed with a little white Viognier. Those of Hermitage and Cote-Rotie are of an incomparable finesse, which can be fully appreciated only when they have been kept for a decade or more. If you can afford these wines, then one place to go for them is Berry Bros, whose long-standing connection with the Chapoutier family has endowed them with an unrivalled collection of mature and not-so-mature vintages. Those of us with modest budgets must travel further south, into the Ardeche, home to the vineyards of St-Joseph.

Mallarme frequented the Ardeche because its name encapsulated the two greatest influences on his life: l'art et la deche - art and penury. St-Joseph is not, in fact, a poor man's wine, but it is cheap for what it is: smooth, soft and fruity, relatively light, but with the subtle peppery bouquet of Syrah at its best. Majestic Wine has a fully mature 1997 from the Domaine de Rochevine - as the parish of St-Desirat was known during the revolution. With this quiet, deep, incense-laden draught, what need have you to visit the romanesque church of St-Desirat, whose peace the wine conveys but does not threaten? On offer at £7.64 each if you buy six bottles or more, it is a bargain, whatever Mallarme might say.

As we go south, the oenological confusion increases. A great many communes are entitled to the appellation Cotes du Rhone Villages, but few of them have an appellation of their own. Many villages are indignant about this, and some have successfully lobbied for recognition. Five deserve special mention: Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, Lirac, Vacqueyras and Gigondas. The first two lie at the southern end of the northern Rhone Valley; the remaining three are adjacent to the most famous (and most overrated) vineyard of the southern Rhone, Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Besides these, there are many villages that, while obliged to sell their wine under the generic label, also affix their own name beneath it.

So here is a first guide through the confusion. Cornas is a must - a tiny vineyard of 230 acres producing a firm, structured and gamey wine that will mature over many years. Majestic Wine has again struck lucky with a 1997 from the co-operative at Tain l'Hermitage: on offer at £8.49 each if you buy six or more, it is worth every penny - smooth, powerful and with a long life ahead.

Vacqueyras, like all the southern Rhones, is made from a mixture of grapes, from which it acquires the generic accent du Midi. It is usually sold far too young, but Les Caves de Pyrene in Guildford (01483 538 820) has a superb 1995 at £7.95 (sold by the case): this wine wafts from the glass like a soft chorus of horns. And from the same merchant you can obtain, for comparison, a deep, ruby-red, licorice-flavoured Gigondas 1997 at £8.35.

Nor should you neglect the unclassified villages, such as Sablet, St-Gervais and Rasteau (which is allowed an appellation only for its sweet white wine). I recommend the Domaine St Anne 1996 from Berrys at £7.95, which comes from St-Gervais above Lirac in the southern Rhone. Or, for a wonderful trip the whole length of the Rhone Valley (taking in white as well as red), try the expertly selected "comprehensive Cotes du Rhone" case offered by Yapp Bros at £86 (01747 860 423).

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