About this WINE
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
Jean-Louis takes this fascinating project seriously, ageing the wines by village and in vessels of differing sizes to suit the temperament and textures of the musts. The three villages in question are Visan, Valreas and Vinsobres, three of the more northerly of the AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages……Vinsobres , indeed has recently been promoted to a stand-alone Cru….All three use a higher than usual percentage of Syrah, which makes up nearly 40% of the final blend……fitting for the master of Hermitage..and then the balance is dominated by supple yet fleshy Grenache; soft Asian spice, finely etched tannins and harmonious freshness on the finish all emphasise the inherent quality here….
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer
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