2011 Côtes du Rhône Villages, Massif d'Uchaux, Domaine Cros de la Mûre
About this WINE
Domaine Cros de la Mure
Domaine Cros de la Mure is a small biodynamic winery, an addition to our wine list since 2012. It is the best exponent of the style and the excellent quality found in the wines from the relatively recently promoted enclave of the Massif D’Uchaux (until 2005 a Côtes du Rhône Villages Appellation).
A brother-sister team of Eric and Myrium Michel are both perfectionists, a trait that will become immediately evident on tasting their wine. Their unoaked Côtes du Rhône Villages Massif d’Uchaux is an outstanding wine, made up of 70% Grenache and equal proportions of Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre. The vines are 40 years of age on average and the yields are a very low at just 15 hl/ha.
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
The blend here is predominantly shared between Grenache and Syrah, the balance made up of Cinsault and Mourvèdre. Low yielding sixty year-old vines and musts which have been fermented and matured in concrete have produced an outstanding 2011. Raspberry and spice dominate the aromatics and the palate has ripe and rounded dark fruit, silky tannins and an impressive finish.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer
From the north of the Vaucluse, Cros de la Mure continues to impress with the purity of its wines. A brother-sister team of Eric and Myrium Michel, Cros de la Mure farms in accordance with biological principles, taking advantage of the ancient soils of nearly six hectares in Massif d’Uchaux, itself relatively recently promoted to Côtes du Rhône Villages status.
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