Buying souther Rhone wines near Avignon

I%26#39;ll be staying in Avignon shortly, on the way north driving to Macon and Epernay as part of a little exercise in restocking my sadly depleted wine cellar.

Before getting too far from Avignon, I%26#39;d like to stop off somewhere to buy some nice Chateauneuf du Pape or similar. I%26#39;m looking for pleasant, but not world class, wines, maybe in the region of €10-15 a bottle.

I assume that the village of Chateuneuf du Pape itself would be a good place to stop? Any recommended growers there? Any other recommended places to stop?

Many thanks

NM

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That should be %26quot;southern Rhone wines%26quot;, of course.

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If you are driving, stop in the many cellars (%26quot;caves%26quot;) in the villages around Chateauneuf (Vacqueyras and Cairanne are, for example, next to Chateauneuf and both offer excellent wines much cheaper than Chateauneuf du Pape). You will, of course, be able to taste the wine!

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I second Cairanne and also suggest the village of Gigondas on the way to Cairanne - in the centre is a small shop where you can taste all of the local producers.

We buy wine from Chateau Mont Redon just outside Chateauneuf (google it for directions). Very good tasting of traditional Chateauneuf plus a selection of Lirac and other Cotes du Rhone red and pinks.

Visit Hautvilliars outside of Epernay. Bruno Gobillard is a small independent producer operating from a modern bungalow on the way into the village and we have found his champagne very good value.

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Indeed, how in the world could I forgot Gigondas, which should be the first choice after Chateauneuf!

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Thanks for the tips folks.

We actually spent very little time in C-d-P, having realised how ludicrously expensive the wines had become (although we did buy 3 such bottles there, which I%26#39;m thoroughly looking forward to on a suitably special occasion), and then headed for Vacqueyras, where we visited a place called Domaine de Montvac (largely as a result of having very much enjoyed one of their wines in a restaurant the night before). They had some lovely wines, and I am looking forward to drinking them on many occasions.

Sadly, no time for Gigondas as well. Maybe next time...

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If you end up in Vacqueyras, make sure to check out the cellars at Domaine la Fourmone - we think that they are simply hte best, and we buy at least a case every September.