What's In A Name?

At the heart of the Rhône Valley, Dominic Rippon sniffs out a hidden vinous gem in truffle country

- Dominic Rippon

Whatever happened to the wines of Côteaux du Tricastin? In the early 2000s, the appellation’s winemakers seemed to be the Rhône Valley’s Young Turks, riding the fashion waves of its syrah and viognier grapes; elbowing higher-end Pays d’Ocs and New World varietal wines from restaurant lists.

Then in 2008, disaster struck when the Tricastin nuclear power plant was found to have leaked uranium into the nearby Gaffière and Lauzon rivers. Although the risk to the area’s wines was nil, the appellation suffered a catastrophic slump in sales from which, its winemakers judged, the name could not recover.

Two years later, the vineyards were reborn under the