Rounded galets roulés, or pudding stones as they’re sometimes called, are the most emblematic soil of the Southern Rhône.
They’re the same size, shape – and sometimes colour – of bodybuilders’ biceps, which gives you a hint of what to expect from this powerful terroir.
There’s another type of soil however, little discussed and undervalued, that instead makes wines that emphasise finesse.
As tastes change – and the climate gets hotter – it’s time to seek out wines born of sand.
Scroll down for Matt’s choice of 11 Rhône wines from sandy soils
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<h2>Rhône on Sea</h2>
<p>Northern Rhône vineyards are largely built on an igneous rock – granite. In the Southern Rhône, various types of sedimentary bedrock are more common.</p>
<p>There are several types of sand here, some brought by rivers, others by wind – but the most interesting sand for viticultural purposes is that brought by the sea.</p>
<p>It’s incredible to imagine today, but the Mediterranean Sea marauded up the Rhône Valley not once but twice – during the Miocene era (23 to 5 million years ago) and the Pliocene (5 to 2 million years ago) – and while there, it deposited layer upon layer of sand that was gradually compressed into sandstone.</p>
<p>This rock is known in the local Provençal dialect as <em>safre</em>.</p>
<p>It’s a particularly compact type of sandstone. Philippe Lambert of Domaine des Pasquiers in Sablet says, ‘it’s almost harder than rock’.</p>
<p>Some vineyards here have slabs of it discarded around the edges, dredged out of the soil to allow the roots downward passage.</p>
<p>It weathers down naturally to produce a fine sandy topsoil. When the sun’s out, you could be sitting on the beach.</p>
<div id="attachment_559885" style="width: 1310px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-559885" class="size-full wp-image-559885" src="https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise.jpg" alt="" width="1300" height="975" srcset="https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise.jpg 1300w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-300x225.jpg 300w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-630x473.jpg 630w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-135x101.jpg 135w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-320x240.jpg 320w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-620x465.jpg 620w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-920x690.jpg 920w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Rocalinaud-Beaumes-de-Venise-1220x915.jpg 1220w" sizes="(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-559885" class="wp-caption-text">Rocalinaud in Beaumes de Venise</p></div>
<h2>Where it’s found</h2>
<p>Inconveniently for us, the sandy soils of the Southern Rhône don’t follow appellation boundaries.</p>
<p>Deposits can be found in varying amounts all over the region, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>The northeastern quarter of Châteauneuf-du-Pape around Courthézon.</li>
<li>A band that skirts the western edge of the Dentelles de Montmirail passing through Séguret, Sablet and Gigondas.</li>
<li>Huge deposits at the south of the Dentelles in Beaumes de Venise (Muscat loves sand) and smaller ones around Vacqueyras.</li>
<li>To the north of the Dentelles, in the flatter parts of Roaix, Vaison la Romaine and Puyméras.</li>
<li>At the base of the Lance massif in the far north east, around Rousset-les-Vignes, Saint-Pantaléon-les-Vignes and Valréas.</li>
<li>A band that runs through the Massif d’Uchaux, Rochegude and Suze-la-Rousse.</li>
<li>Important deposits are on the west bank too, in Laudun, Chusclan, Lirac and Tavel.</li>
</ul>
<p>As such, when looking for wines grown on sand, you’ll have to search by producer rather than appellation; sometimes by individual cuvée.</p>
<h2>Growing on sand</h2>
<p>Sand is a poorer soil compared to, say, clay; it offers less in the way of nutrients to vines.</p>
<p>But one benefit – when not blocked by plates of hard safre – is that roots are free to delve down deeply.</p>
<p>Though water readily drains through sand, it’s not necessarily an arid terroir in dry climates.</p>
<p>Georges Truc, the renowned ‘oeno-geologist’, explains that water can percolate upwards by capillarity as long as there’s proximity to a water source.</p>
<p>‘Sand is very favourable to all varieties,’ he says, but it gives particularly interesting results with Grenache and Cinsault in red, and Grenache Blanc and Clairette in white.</p>
<p>Maurice Goetschy of Château Boucarut in Lirac says cultivars that prefer a more moderate heat, such as Roussanne and Viognier, can ripen very quickly on these terroirs.</p>
<h2><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-559886" src="https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone.jpg" alt="" width="1300" height="975" srcset="https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone.jpg 1300w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-300x225.jpg 300w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-630x473.jpg 630w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-135x101.jpg 135w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-320x240.jpg 320w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-620x465.jpg 620w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-920x690.jpg 920w, https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2025/06/Sandstone-1220x915.jpg 1220w" sizes="(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px" /></h2>
<h2>Fine sand, fine wines</h2>
<p>‘There’s a finesse you find from the sands of Lirac,’ says Edouard Guérin of Ogier.</p>
<p>By comparison, his says wines on nearby clay soils have sweeter, jammier fruit flavours. Truc agrees that ‘sand gives very fine tannins’.</p>
<p>Reds from vineyards composed of <em>galets roulés</em> tend to have muscular, rounded profiles.</p>
<p>Those from sand have lighter tannic textures reminiscent of fine, cooling sand flowing through your fingers.</p>
<p>Sand typically produces wines with a slightly paler colour, that are approachable young but can age well too.</p>
<p>They are usually less powerful and concentrated than wines from galets roulés – which can be a good or bad thing, depending on what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Historically, sand has been less lauded than galets roulés, particularly in Châteauneuf.</p>
<p>But as more winemakers, and wine drinkers, seek elegance over strength, this is beginning to change.</p>
<p>That Château Rayas comes from sand is evidence enough that these soils can make the very finest wines.</p>
<p>
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Rhône wines made from sandy soils
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