About this WINE
Ch. Ricardelle La Clape
Château Ricardelle is located in the La Clape region in Côteaux du Languedoc. Despite its rather unpromising name, La Clape is one of the most impressive wine-producing enclaves in Côteaux du Languedoc, which has for several years been vying with Pic Saint Loup to be the next wine commune to merit its own Appellation Controllée status. A far cry from the austerity of the limestone outcrops of the northern Hérault, here we are only a few kilometres from the seaside.
The good news, for La Clape at least, is that it has won the accolade first and all wines made after January 2100 will have an autonomous AOC La Clape status. The promotion was won as a result of the distinctive terroir and the efforts by the existing growers fully to exploit its wonderful potential;
The Nègre family at Ricardelle are one of the top five domaines here. The elegance of their wines is evidenced through the entire range, and the fact that the superior Closalbières cuvée has benefited from 10 months in barrique in no way detracts from its sense of place and the integrity of its structure.
La Clape
Not the most confidence-inspiring of names, it can not be denied, La Clape is yet another enclave within the extraordinarily diverse Coteaux De Languedoc appellation. In one of the sunniest enclaves in France, just to the south Of Narbonne, La Clape makes some excellent white wines ( where Bourboulenc is a particularly successful variety) and reds (which combine both traditional and more modern varieties). With the natural heat tempered by the influence of the sea, La Clape makes wines which, at best, combine elegance and power.
Southern Rhône Blend
The vast majority of wines from the Southern Rhône are blends. There are 5 main black varieties, although others are used and the most famous wine of the region, Châteauneuf du Pape, can be made from as many as 13 different varieties. Grenache is the most important grape in the southern Rhône - it contributes alcohol, warmth and gentle juicy fruit and is an ideal base wine in the blend. Plantings of Syrah in the southern Rhône have risen dramatically in the last decade and it is an increasingly important component in blends. It rarely attains the heights that it does in the North but adds colour, backbone, tannins and soft ripe fruit to the blend.
The much-maligned Carignan has been on the retreat recently but is still included in many blends - the best old vines can add colour, body and spicy fruits. Cinsault is also backtracking but, if yields are restricted, can produce moderately well-coloured wines adding pleasant-light fruit to red and rosé blends. Finally, Mourvèdre, a grape from Bandol on the Mediterranean coast, has recently become an increasingly significant component of Southern Rhône blends - it often struggles to ripen fully but can add acidity, ripe spicy berry fruits and hints of tobacco to blends.
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Description
Château Ricardelle can be found in the dramatic and beautiful La Clape region in Côteaux du Languedoc, located in a balneal environment between the ancient cities of Narbonne and Beziers. Combemale is a blend of Grenache (40%) and 30% each of Syrah and Carignan. Its vines are located on the south-west foothills La Clape and the soils are dominated by chalk. The wine feeds off natural yeasts and is aged only in stainless steel, lending great purity and finesse. Aromatics of bay-leaf, plum and laurel cede to a generous palate which is elegant in structure, balance and intent.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
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