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# What Carolyn Pours: La Solitude Côtes du Rhône 2024
- URL: https://www.jeffcobeacon.com/what-carolyn-pours-la-solitude-cotes-du-rhone-2024/
- Published: 2026-09-08T22:12:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-08T22:12:26.000Z
- Description: An easygoing taste of the Southern Rhône.
- Author: Carolyn Lewis
- Tags: Arts & Culture, What Carolyn Pours, Wine, Food and Wine, La Solitude Côtes du Rhône 2024, Carolyn Lewis

There are wines that demand contemplation, and then there are wines that simply make a weeknight dinner better. La Solitude Côtes du Rhône 2024 manages to do a little of both. It has enough character to keep you interested, but it remains wonderfully approachable—a bottle that feels equally at home at a casual supper or alongside a more ambitious meal.

You also don’t need to know a great deal about French wine to enjoy it. The best examples offer an unmistakable sense of southern France—ripe fruit, herbs, spice and warmth—all without requiring a special occasion or breaking the bank. 

Produced by Domaine de la Solitude, a historic Rhône Valley estate overseen by the Lançon family, this red comes from the southern Rhône, a region famous for warm sunshine, stony soils and generous, spice-scented wines.

The 2024 La Solitude is a traditional Rhône blend built around grenache, syrah and mourvèdre. Made up of 45% grenache, 45% syrah and 10% mourvèdre, the wine is fermented in concrete vats and matured in stainless steel rather than relying heavily on oak. This allows the fruit and spice to remain front and center. Concrete vats have a long history in French winemaking, particularly in the Rhône Valley. Unlike what an oak barrel contributes in the way of vanilla and toast flavors, stainless steel provides a neutral environment that allows the character of the grapes—as well as the place where they were grown—to shine through. The 2024 vintage of this wine delivers a wonderful combination of black cherry, blueberry and plum flavors, and finishes with a lovely dry mouthfeel.

In the glass, the first thing you notice is its beautiful ruby color. On the nose, there is plenty of ripe red fruit, followed by pepper and the savory spice that syrah brings so naturally to a Rhône blend. The wine has fine tannins rather than a heavy or aggressive structure, which makes it an excellent pairing to grilled steak or lamb; but I’d be just as happy drinking it with roast chicken, a good hamburger, sausages, pasta with a rich tomato sauce or cheese and charcuterie. 

This is the sort of red wine that earns its place at the dinner table because it isn’t particularly fussy, and at under $20, it fits the bill as an everyday sipper.

Serving it slightly cooler than room temperature, around 60°F (15–16°C), is ideal. That little bit of coolness helps emphasize the fruit and freshness rather than the alcohol—although at 14% ABV, it's fine to have a second glass.

This wine packs a lot of flavor without feeling heavy. Often those are the bottles I enjoy the most. Ask Joe Euro at The Wineseller on Water Street to help you find a bottle, or look for it at your favorite local wine shop. Cheers.