Roussillon sits at France's southern Mediterranean edge, hard against the Spanish border, sharing more climatically with Catalonia than with the rest of France. Old-vine Grenache, Carignan and Syrah, grown on schist and granite hillsides, produce concentrated, sun-soaked reds, while the region is also France's leading source of Vins Doux Naturels — fortified sweet wines made from Grenache and Muscat, most famously in Banyuls and Maury.

Key grapes: Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Muscat