Southern Rhône Blend

Limoux's steep slopes and limestone-dominated soils create the terroir behind this refreshing and beautifully energetic rosé. Grenache and Syrah provide the backbone of the blend, giving both generosity and spice, while the addition of a little Cinsault brings red-berry definition.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This Côtes du Rhône has been specially made for us by Rémi Pouizin, the talented winemaker and owner of Domaine Dieu-le-Fit. Made with exclusively organic grapes, the wine displays real purity of dark-berried fruit, with subtle spicy notes and a black-olive twist that is so typical of this region. Its juicy fruit core is wonderfully balanced by refreshing acidity and crunchy, chalky tannins.
Fiona Hayes - Wine Buyer

Set amongst the rolling lavender covered hills of Provence, Chateau Miraval is farmed biodynamically by the famous Perrin family under the watchful eye of its owners Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. An altitude of 350m provides just enough freshness to create a full bodied but elegant wine showing ripe red and black berry fruit with a handful of sweet spices and herbs culminating with supple earthy tannins.

A blend of Cinsault, Cabernet, Carignan and Grenache, the colour is pale with raspberry, citrus and floral aromas. Juicy acidity combines with lemon and pink grapefruit notes on the palate. Wonderfully refreshing.
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer

Peach colour with a pale salmon reflections. An exuberant nose of fresh fruit with a dominant citrus character. The mouth is both supple and fresh with a beautiful presence of red fruits on the finish.

A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, this has beautiful precision – a result of the parcels being vinified separately and the vigneron’s attention to detail. The exuberant citrus profile has red berry fruit perfume and subtle mint and verbena notes that bring aromatic lift. There is a zesty acidity with crunchy red fruits on the palate.  
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer

The 2106 Vacqueyras is certainly fresh and juicy – its
fruit sourced from ten parcels and dominated by the
75 percent of tank-aged Grenache, with Syrah and
Mourvèdre providing impressive support. Herbs,
cassis and a hint of eucalypt provide the backdrop
and the ensemble is enrobed and ennobled by ripe yet
finely poised tannins. Drink 2019-2021.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

A wine of great purity and focus, with red fruits,
aniseed and hints – appropriately enough – of the
garrigue. The wine is made up of 70 percent Grenache
and 30 percent Syrah, the age of the Grenache
being at least 60-years-old. Christine describes the
fermentation process in terms of an infusion delicacy
being key and the temperature kept no higher than
28 degrees. The resulting style she describes as une
bonne amertune, the apparently bittersweet oxymoron
explained most lucidly by the wine itself. Drink
2019-2023.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Marc Perrin likes to characterise Coudoulet as a happy battle between the “fireworks” of the Grenache and the more restrained and “lean” Syrah. Lean in a positive sense, of course. To this, however, must be added 30 percent of Mourvèdre (the same percentage as the Grenache) and 20 percent of Cinsault (the same amount as the Syrah). Mourvèdre adds spice and depth, while Cinsault delivers a gentle feminine charm. Indeed, almost paradoxically, given the generosity of the vintage, the wine is less fleshy and opulent at this early stage. To me it recalls 2010 in its authority and linear personality, both more than favourable precursors. Drink 2017-2025.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The Perrins are far from equivocal in outlining their aspirations in the Southern Rhône; they wish to match the undisputed primacy of their Beaucastel estate with hegemony of classic vineyards to demonstrate the best characteristics of the best villages: Voltaire without Pangloss. Nurturing and guiding as appropriate, they have rapidly built up an enviable portfolio which has gone virtually all the way to the realisation of this ambition. Their attention has been focused especially on the villages of Vinsobres and Gigondas, both of which share altitude and aspect to suit the subtly changing climate in the region.

Sophie and Catherine were, unsurprisingly, amongst the first of a growing band of brothers (and sisters) to plant over the river in the slightly undervalued appellation of Lirac. Minute geological differences have a big effect on Grenache especially, which can result in wines, such as this, that are richly robust, wonderfully dark of fruit, yet approachable by way of temperament. Well worth the detour. Drink 2018-2023. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The forebears of sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have been making superb wines since 1344 it seems, maybe modifying their techniques a little along the way, but not too much. Biodynamic in all but the letter, they are based close to Beaucastel, but their plots, albeit more modest in total surface area, are more widely spaced over the appellation, with the most significant holdings in the areas around Courthézon and on the central Crau plateau. Low yields are key to the exceptional quality of the wines.

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Les Douyes is an equal blend of co-planted Grenache and Mourvèdre from 100-year-old vines grown on modest slopes of clay-dominated soil, which is aged for 18 months in foudre. Demeter accreditation is reflected in a palate profile of sous-bois, herbs and Provençal warmth. Drink 2018 - 2026. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

L’Oratoire St Martin is run with great skill by brothers François and Frédéric Alary, both leading players in the movement to get Cairanne promoted to stand-alone Cru status, a movement which has recently been successful. The Alary family can trace its origins to the same decade as Berry Bros. & Rudd (1698 for us, 1692 for them) and now farms over 28 hectares, in the middle of which there was once, apparently, an oratory of some description. Low-yielding old vines are farmed biodynamically and the wines are vinified first in open-top fermenters and then in large foudres of 3,400 litres. The Alary brothers have risen to the challenges imposed by their de facto status as the leading producers in the recently created stand-alone Cairanne Cru. Nowhere is this more evident than in the supreme quality of their 2015 wines.

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This is a blend of 51 percent Syrah, 31 percent Grenache, 14 percent Mouvèdre and four percent Counoise. “Patelin” is slang for “neighbourhood” and is a project that enables Tablas to be selective with their own fruit, as well as sourcing from some high-quality vineyards around their ‘hood, Paso Robles. Each vineyard which makes it into the blend is mentioned on the label. Bright and energetic, the wine has aromas of violet, blueberry and pepper spice. It has a silky but pronounced tannin profile, with a juicy and generous mid-palate.  
Fiona Hayes, Wine Buyer

A felicitous blend of Grenache (50 percent), Syrah (30 percent) and Mourvèdre (20 percent), the 2013 has been matured in foudre, barrique and cask and is suitably complex, without losing the wonderfully fresh and exuberant sweet mid-palate mouth-feel for which the domaine is now justly celebrated.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer

The story of Sénéchaux has a familiar refrain of low yields (22 hectolitres per hectare), a late harvest, the danger of rot in the vineyard after the coulure, and further patience required in the winery to encourage the malolactic fermentation to take place. Bernard Tranchecoste is not timid about rehearsing the problems, which is why the tasting comes as a very agreeable surprise. Heterogeneous ripening in three very different locations does not seem in any way to have affected the overall equilibrium of what will prove to be a very impressive ensemble. One of the shinning successes in the vintage is Senechaux’s 2013 Châteauneuf du Pape. Checking in as a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 20% Mourvedre that was aged mostly in foudre (55%), but also in barrels (35%) and concrete (10%), it offers gorgeous aromas of sweet spice, ground pepper and garrigue to go with kirsch and blackberry-styled fruit. Possessing medium-bodied richness, loads of fruit, sweet tannin and integrated acidity, it should shine on release, and evolve gracefully through 2023.
Jeb Dunnuck - Wine Advocate Issue#215 Oct 2014

Cadène is made up of three co-planted and elevated parcels of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, with an average age of over 90 years. The undulating hills are described, rather poetically by Philippe, in terms of a “bossu” (hunchback), and their differing aspects certainly contribute to the complexity. The natural freshness of Vinsobres underwrites the generosity in 2015, with Mourvèdre spice and Grenache flesh all harmoniously entwined. Drink 2019 - 2026.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

Domaine Chaume-Arnaud is owned and run by Valérie and Philippe Chaume-Arnaud, who own 13.5 hectares situated in and around Vinsobres. Their reds are made up principally of Grenache (60 percent), with Syrah (20 percent), some ancient Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre (10 percent), plus Viognier and Marsanne (10 percent). Yields are kept low, all soil treatments are organic and harvesting is done solely by hand. Most of the vines average 30 years in age, going up to 65 for the Carignan in the Vinsobres cuvée. Philippe looks after the vines while Valérie works the cellar, all under the watchful eye of her parents – her mother's method of tracking Philippe down is to drive literally into a vineyard and stand and scream at the top of her voice until he appears.

Sourced from a specific plot nearer to the bottom of the hill in Gigondas, these 90-year-old vines are shared once again between 80% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre. Production is small at 5,000 bottles, alas, because this is a very special wine, with notes of black tea and Indian spice behind a seductive ripeness which is undoubtedly powerful but also exceptionally pure; the result of the biodynamic viticulture and the lack of intervention in the winery.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Christine and Eric Saurel, biodynamic pioneers in the Southern Rhône, are relatively large land owners in two of the more modish of the ‘named’ villages, Gigondas and Vacqueyras, where their holdings cover 16 and 34 hectares respectively. The advantages of such a pioneering spirit become clearer and clearer as the vines reach maturity and the wines resonate an intangible quality described memorably by Christine as ‘luminosité’.

Of Daniel’s two Pallières cuvées, Les Racines is sourced from lower vineyards than Les Terrasses, but from older vines – nearly 70 years of age in the case of the Grenache, which makes up 80 percent of this cuvée, with the balance made up from Syrah (8%), Cinsault (7%) and Clairette (5%). The surprisingly feminine floral aromas are followed by a fine and elegant palate, with notes of myrtle and liquorice, mocha and forest floor all in evidence. Drink 2020-2028.
Simon Field MW- Wine Buyer

Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe is one of the most renowned estates of the Southern Rhône, with around 45 hectares of vines, and an average vine age of 55 years. Blessed with one of the finest locations in the area, the particularly hot microclimate is such that the Bruniers, owners of the estate for almost a century, are able to harvest as much as a week ahead of their neighbours. Vieux Télégraphe's blend is a typical one, with Grenache accounting for around two thirds, while the rest is made up of Syrah and Cinsault in roughly equal proportions, plus a tiny bit of Clairette. The Bruniers also run a radically different property in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, named Piedlong, and a very attractive property in the hills of Gigondas, Domaine les Pallières.

Sourced diversely over the north of the appellation, the wine’s final blend is classic beyond peradventure (65 percent Grenache, 20 percent Syrah, 10 percent Mourvèdre and five percent Cinsault) and looks set to be an exceptional domaine cuvée, with 80 percent de-stemmed and 80 percent vat-aged grapes. Its high-toned fruit aromas sit more than comfortably with intimations of garrigue and Asian spices. The palate is dominated by blackcurrant and cassis…a silky symphony in a bright key. Drink 2020-2028. 
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The brother and sister team of Christophe and Isabelle Sabon continue to work wonders at Janasse. They farm 80 hectares of vineyards spread over a number of wine appellations: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which is all located in the north-east of the appellation in the commune of Courthézon, Côtes du Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages, but also Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange and Vin de Table. Concrete tanks are used for the Grenache and oak for the Syrah and Mourvèdre; in other words, everything is fairly traditional. Isabelle Sabon compares the 2015 to 2005 and 2010. Its tannic profile sits somewhere in the middle, as, possibly, does its quality. For all that, they are three outstanding vintages.