2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Marcoux, Rhône

2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Marcoux, Rhône

Product: 20128009434
Prices start from £505.00 per case Buying options
2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Marcoux, 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 Vieilles Vignes is another 100% Grenache masterpiece. This time it has been matured in stainless steel, which has brought the sheer brilliance of the fruit content into dazzling focus. Encyclopaedic flavours cascade into the taster’s consciousness; heathery notes tempered by peat and incense, then soft mandarin gilded by verbena and lavender, then finally a savoury counterpoint, dark, deep and mysterious.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

The forebears of sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have been making superb wines since 1344 it seems, none better, in my admittedly limited experience, given such a history, than 2012. A fact supported by the exceptionally low yields, between 17 and 19 hectare litres per hectare across the parcels. Grenache is vinified with Mourvèdre on the one hand and with Syrah on the other.

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate95/100
There are roughly 2,800 bottles of the 2012 Chteauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes to go around. Always a blend of 100% Grenache from three terroirs -- Charbonnire, Esquierons and Galimardes -- it is completely destemmed and aged all in stainless steel (there wasn't enough to fill a larger barrel). The wine possesses a perfumed, complex profile of black raspberry and blackberry-like fruit, spring flowers, licorice and damp herbs. This is followed by a full-bodied, voluptuously textured wine that has layers of sweet fruit, fine tannin and terrific length. It lacks the sheer depth and richness thats found in top vintages of this cuve (2006, 2007, 2010, among others), but should still have 10-15 years of longevity, and deliver loads of pleasure for all of it.
Jeb Dunnuck - 31/10/2014 Read more

About this WINE

Domaine de Marcoux

Domaine de Marcoux

Sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have elevated Marcoux to the very highest ranks. Today, Sophie diligently runs the winery, while her son Vincent Estevenin looks after the vineyards. Now, there are 27 hectares split into over 20 parcels: 18 hectares lie right in the heart of the prime Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroir of La Crau plateau. The remainder rest in Lirac and the other Côtes du Rhône villages. Certified as organic by Ecocert as early as 1991, this year marks four decades of rigorous organic and then biodynamic principles.

The domaine makes three main wines: a Lirac, their main Châteauneuf-du-Pape and an exceptional Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes – the top cuvée from this organically certified domaine. It’s made from two parcels of outstanding, old-vine Grenache: Charbonnières, planted in 2000 and Esqueirons, planted in 1949.

The cool, freshness of the 2021 vintage really plays to Domaine de Marcoux’s stylistic strengths of purity and minerality, aided as ever by their dedication to biodynamics. Their wines are always balanced but, at 1.5% abv lower than in 2020, both the Lirac and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape are especially gorgeous this year. These wines epitomise the crunchy, deliciously fresh appeal of 2021; they are lifted, fruit-forward and fragrant, and such a delight to drink.

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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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