About this WINE
Domaine Montirius
Domaine Montirius is one of the stars of the appellation, and deservedly so, judged by the care afforded to its wines by Christine and Eric Saurel. They represent the fifth generation to work this 57 hectare domaine in the heart of Vacqueyras and their property, now farmed entirely by biodynamic principles.
Labour-intensive and rigorous, low yielding old vines on optimal soil provide the perfect raw materials, and a careful three week maceration allows the full expression of the terroir. Their patient methodology is rewarded with superb expressions of terroir, described by Christine as `vins lumineux'. Here you can find their village Vacqueyras, as well as the stunningly opulent Clos Montirius.
The Saurels are a charming and gentle couple; their wine, however, is powerful and regal. One of the rare examples where the wine’s personality does not reflect that of those who make it!
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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A growing list of biodynamic wines at Berrys' includes the spice-laden 2006 Vacqueyras, Garrigues, Domaine Montirius
(Anthony Rose - The Independent - 12-Sept-2009)
And finally a serious, biodynamically certified red: Domaine Montirius Garrigues Vacqueyras 2006 may be high in alcohol, but it has the structure to contain it. Earthy, detailed and savoury, it embodies the dry, herby flavours of the southern Rhône, but adds its own, considerable, might. It's a universe away from Blossom Hill.
(Victoria Moore - The Guardian - 05-Sept-2009)
The Saurels are never content to rest on their laurels. Their goal, evanescent, laudable and hard precisely to define, is to achieve what they describe as ‘les vins lumineux’, especially tricky, one may have thought, with the famously earthy and masculine styles more usually associated with the villages of Vacqueyras, Gigondas. Yet there is something in the purity of flavour (violets, blackberry, truffle and earth) and focus of definition, which goes some way to justifying such a description. The 2006 is lighter on its feet than the 2005, more immediately attractive, but not without the weight to accompany hearty meat-based dishes.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)
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