About this WINE
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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Description
Based on the Plateau de Sarrians, surrounded by olive trees, and in full view of the jagged Dentelles de Montmirail, Les Christins is a beautiful site. The wine, for me, captures the very specific essence of fine Vacqueyras, a felicitous combination of old-vine charm and energetic pomp. Notes of liquorice, black tea, fennel and violets all come to mind here.
Simon Field MW - Rhône Buyer
The Perrins are owners of the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate Château de Beaucastel, but have, over the years, broadened their repertoire to include wines from the key villages in the Southern Rhône. All of these fall under the appropriate nomenclature of La Famille Perrin, reflecting the peerless team effort that goes into the production of a range of wines which is without rival in this part of the world: all are impeccably made and reflect the true nature of the terroir from which they come. The Perrins have refined yet further this already very polished message by segregating their top domaines into a ‘parcellaire’ category.
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