2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Giraud

2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Giraud

Product: 20128208127
 
2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Giraud

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Description

No fewer than 64 parcels are behind this cuvée which is made from 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. Fleshy, sweet and generous, with hints of the garrigue and roasted herbs which underline its provenance, this wine is well named, its ageing shared between tank and foudre and its potential vast.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Marie Giraud is quite business-like these days, and when asked about the vintage, she advises that it has more tension than 2007, less alcohol and concentration than 2010 and ultimately resembles 2009, which also had very small thick-skinned grapes. So there we are. Of course, 2009 was one of her most successful and applauded vintages… thankfully.

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate91/100
More serious than the Premices, the 2012 Chteauneuf du Pape Tradition has additional structure and depth, with classic red and black fruits, leather, bouquet garni and spice aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated and layered, it has the house purity and texture while staying firmly grounded in the Southern Rhne.
Jeb Dunnuck - 31/10/2014 Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Giraud

Domaine Giraud

Domaine Giraud is new to our list this year. Having espied an impressive progression over the last three years, we feel that the 2009 has progressed even further. Marie Giraud is the talented winemaker and advice from the larger-than-life consultant Monsieur Philippe Cambie has brought the property to the boil. The biodynamic approach to viticulture was more than a match, it seems, for the intense heat of high summer, when moisture was at a premium.

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

The most celebrated village of the Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the birthplace of the now indispensable French Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée system – imperfect though it may be. Compared to the Northern Rhône, the vineyards here are relatively flat and often feature the iconic galet pebbles – the precise benefits of which are a source of much debate. Minimum alcohol levels required by the AOC are the highest in France, but at 12.5% it is well below the natural generosity of Grenache, which only achieves its full aromatic potential when it is fully ripe and laden with the resultant high sugars. Syrah and Mourvèdre contribute the other defining elements in the blend, adding pepper, savoury spice and structure to the decadent Grenache. There are a further 10 permitted red grape varieties which can be used to adjust the “seasoning”. Of the five white varieties permitted, it is Grenache Noir’s sibling – predictably perhaps – Grenache Blanc, which dominates, though Roussanne shows a great deal of promise when handled well, notably at Château de Beaucastel.

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Southern Rhône Blend

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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