2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, La Reine des Bois, Domaine de la Mordorée, Rhône

2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, La Reine des Bois, Domaine de la Mordorée, Rhône

Product: 20101114632
 
2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, La Reine des Bois, Domaine de la Mordorée, Rhône

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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Description

The 2010 Reine de Bois is an outstanding success, every bit as good to my mind as the past glories of 2009, 2007 and 2001. Christophe describes it, somewhat whimsically, as an aristocratic diamond. There is certainly regality and precision here; the typical notes of graphite, raspberry coulis and bay are complemented by a fine filigree of tannins and an impeccable balance, with hints of lavender and garrigue adding a pleasing meridional twist.
Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer, February 2012

The Delorme brothers have, since 1986, forged an enviable reputation. They are based to the south-east in the village of Tavel, celebrated for its rosé wines, but they also own 4 hectares of vines on the Crau plateau of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a very well-positioned parcel in Lirac. Christophe is adamant that 2010 is their best ever vintage; the key to its quality is the juxtaposition of trademark concentration and very fine tannins, much finer, he maintains than in 2007 or 2009, both highly successful years of course. Mordorée are aiming for full organic certification in 2013, aided in no small measure by the new member of the team…Sarko the horse…(at least I think that this is the name they gave!)

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate99+/100
A wine that might rival the 2001 when all is said and done, the 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de La Reine des Bois is an incredible effort that does everything right. Possessing a voluptuous, decadent and super-rich profile, it stays graceful and perfectly balanced, with beautiful freshness, a stacked mid-palate and a blockbuster finish. Opening up in the glass, with copious blackberry, cassis, graphite, violets and spring flower-like nuances, it needs another 2-3 years of bottle age, and will have upward of three decades of overall longevity.
Jeb Dunnuck - 28/08/2014 Read more
Robert Parker96-98/100
The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee de la Reine des Bois should rival the estate’s terrific 2007, 2006, 2005, 2001 and 1998. It boasts a saturated black/purple color and a glorious perfume of melted licorice, acacia flowers, lavender, blueberries, blackberries and kirsch. Full-bodied and dense as well as extraordinarily elegant, precise and fresh, this sumptuous wine should be cellared for 3-5 years, and drunk over the following 25+. It is a candidate for “wine of the vintage.”
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Oct 2011) Read more

About this WINE

Domaine de la Mordoree

Domaine de la Mordoree

Christophe and Fabrice Delorme at Domaine de la Mordorée did not take long to project this fine estate (which is named, somewhat poetically, after a woodcock) into the Premier League.

Based in the Southern Rhone appellation of Tavel, the brothers make, as one would expect, delicious rosé wine in addition to a very fine Lirac and an excellent Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Christophe produced his first wines there in 1987. Up until that time the estate had been little more than a hobby for his father, an industrialist with two great passions; shooting and wine.

Christophe totally refurbished and modernised the winery as well as replanting much of the vineyards. Today the domaine has 40 hectares of vineyards - 7 hectares in Tavel, 15 hectares in Lirac (top-notch examples), 16 hectares for generic Côtes-du-Rhône and 3 hectares in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The vineyards are organically cultivated as much as possible, only using chemical weedkillers and pesticides as a very last resort. As for the winemaking, the grapes are all systematically destemmed upon arrival at the winery and vinification takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel fermenters. The wines are then matured in a mixture of stainless steel vats and new oak barrels. The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de la Reine des Bois is a limited bottling only produced in the very finest years.

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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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