2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenaches de Pierre, Domaine Giraud, Rhône

2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenaches de Pierre, Domaine Giraud, Rhône

Product: 20128212999
 
2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Grenaches de Pierre, Domaine Giraud, Rhône

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Description

The soils for these venerable centurion Grenache vines are located on the Crau plateau, which is clay-based, but also in Pignan, which is more sandy. Organic since 2008, Marie and her brother Franois have scored a notable success here; one does not need to employ all thirteen varieties to achieve incredible complexity, it would seem.
Simon Field MW, Rhône Wine Buyer

Marie Giraud is quite business-like these days, and when asked about the vintage, she advises that it has more tension than 2007, less alcohol and concentration than 2010 and ultimately resembles 2009, which also had very small thick-skinned grapes. So there we are. Of course, 2009 was one of her most successful and applauded vintages… thankfully.

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Critics reviews

Wine Advocate95/100
The 2012 Chteauneuf du Pape les Grenaches de Pierre is in the top 5-10 wines in the vintage. Coming from a single plot of sandy soils in La Crau and made from 100% Grenache, it knocks it out of the park with its black raspberry, cassis, lavender, licorice and smoked earth-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and elegant, it has awesome purity, no hard edges and building tannin. Its already hard to resist, but will drink nicely through 2027.
Jeb Dunnuck - 31/10/2014 Read more

About this WINE

Domaine Giraud

Domaine Giraud

Domaine Giraud is new to our list this year. Having espied an impressive progression over the last three years, we feel that the 2009 has progressed even further. Marie Giraud is the talented winemaker and advice from the larger-than-life consultant Monsieur Philippe Cambie has brought the property to the boil. The biodynamic approach to viticulture was more than a match, it seems, for the intense heat of high summer, when moisture was at a premium.

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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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