APPELLATION :
AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages Visan
VINTAGE:
2012
TASTING NOTES:
Bright garnet colour, which reflects its age. Still fresh nose, with minty and seasonings aromas, then warmer smells appear such as cocoa and sweet spice, with a hint of forest floor. Medium bodied, mouthcoating with beautiful silky tannins on the palate, this wine is well balanced and harmonious, and its aromatic persistence is great, with forest floor and wild black and red fruit flavors. It shows all the characteristics of a well-aged wine, at its apogee.
VARIETIES:
80% Grenache, 20% Shiraz
AGING CAPACITY:
This wine is already 6 years old, it has reached its finest profile. But it can be kept a little bit longer, 2 years, maybe more.
VINIFICATION:
We combine traditional methods with modern technology, handcrafting qualitative wines which reflect our terroir. We believe in minimal intervention, we are here to create the best conditions to let the grapes express their true character and to keep these conditions from the harvest to the bottling. Here we do a long and soft extraction, during the winemaking process, which is about 3 to 4 weeks long. It enables us to obtain a delicate texture and fruity aromas, but also some licorice flavors. Shiraz grapes undergo a cold maceration before fermentation, in order to reveal the fruit and flower aromas of this variety. Fermentation temperature is meticulously controlled and stays around 26°C (79°F), and then only the free run wines (obtained without pressing) are used to create this cuvee. Maturing takes place in concrete tanks for a fraction of the two varieties. The other part of the shiraz wine goes in 6hL oak barrels, the grenache in an 20hL oak vat, for a minimum of 12 months. Finally, after a meticulous tasting, the blending is done, and the wine is ready for bottling.
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
16-18°C (61 – 64°F)
PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
Red meat, lamb ribs, pear with wine sauce, chocolate cake.
REWARDS:
1 star in the 2016 Hachette guide book : “an intensely flavored cuvee (blackcurrant, strawberry jam, cocoa), full bodied, generous and fresh on the palate, with silky tannins and a hint of vanilla oak flavor.”
