Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette 2016

Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle Hermitage Rouge Donnieres is made from  100% Syrah.

Made from 40-year-old vines planted on granitic and rocky soils in the Lieu dit "Les Donnieres" at the bottom of the Hermitage's hill.

Intense inky ruby red color. 
The wine has plenty to offer with red and black fruit aromas, as well as a good minerality. 
The finish is very long, clean and juicy and offers a great spicy mouthfeel.

Soil is clay, silica and round pebbles.
Hand harvested in small crates. The grapes are then pumped into tanks (full cluster, not destemmed). 
It will stay in this tank for 15 days for the skin contact maceration and the Alcoholic fermentation.
Tey will also use the "rack and return" technique (delestage).
Then the wine is transfered into neutral French Oak barrels where the wine will complete the Malo-Lactic fermentation.

Delicious with grilled red meat such as venison or lamb and most cheeses.

Review:

"If the prebottling sample of the Fayolles' 2017 Hermitage Les Dionnieres is truly representative, purchasers will be in for a treat. It's inky dark in color, with a cassis-laden nose that's marked by hints of crushed stone. It's full-bodied and concentrated, tannic without being hard or overdone, and despite ample ripeness, there's structure and freshness. It looks to be the complete package and potentially in the same ballpark (quality-wise) as the impressive 2015. - Joe Czerwinski"

- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (Issue #239, October 31th 2018), 94-96 pts

Alain Jaume Lirac Rouge Roquedon is made from 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, 10% Carignan.

Inky color. The nose is dominated by aromas of wild fruit (blackcurrant, blackberry) and spices. Long and balanced mouth.
"Roquedon" deliver more of the "round"- "sweet" body from the Grenache, and cherry-red fruit expression. It is dark in color, almost black.

Traditional wine-making in stainless still vats. Crushed and destemmed grapes. Fermentation temperature : 30°C. 18 days of vatting with pigeages. Ageing mainly in vats and about 10% in oak barrels. Bottling 15 months after the harvest.

Review:

"Based on 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and the rest Mourvèdre and Carignan, the 2016 Lirac Roquedon offers more black (and even some blue) fruits to go with complex white pepper, garrigue, and new leather aromas and flavors. Ripe, opulent, and fleshy on the palate, this medium to full-bodied Lirac has loads of character."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 92 pts

Anne Delaroche Cotes du Rhone Rouge Bejot is made from 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre
Clear ruby wine with overtones of red berry fruits. Round and supple with smooth aftertaste. A good all round red wine for meat courses, poultry and light cheeses. Best drunk now while fresh with good keeping up to 4 years.

Serve at 14°C (57°F).
Currently in organic conversion (they should be certified within the next  years).

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Alain Jaume Cotes Du Rhone Rouge Haut de Brun is made from 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault

The colour is purple-tinged garnet.The aromatic range of the nose goes from fresh berries (wild raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry) to spices.The palate is big and full-flavoured, with silky-smooth tannins and aromas of the fruit already mentioned. The finish introduces touches of liquorice and pepper. A Côtes du Rhône with great complexity for an every day drinking.

A classic Rhône to drink between 1 and 4 years. Best poured at 17°C.

Traditional wine making and ageing is performed in vats only. Bottling after 10-12 months.

Ideal throughout the meal, but particularly with poultry and other white meats, as well as mild cheeses.

Review:

"The 2017 Côtes du Rhône Haut de Brun is in the same ballpark as the 2016, with a similar level of concentration, yet it has more dark fruits as well as good minerality. This medium-bodied, concentrated, fresh 2017 will keep for 7-8 years.

There are few better run estates in the world than that of the Jaume Family’s Domaine Grand Veneur. Located in the northern part of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and run today by brothers Christophe and Sebastien Jaume, the estate produces a quasi-modern style of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (their Les Origins and Vieilles Vignes) as well as a growing number of negociant based wines from throughout the Southern Rhône. The 2017s whites are terrific across the board, and this vintage has produced charming, pure wines that are already drinking beautifully. The 2016 reds are some of the finest I’ve tasted from this estate."

- Jeb Dunnuck (August 2018, LE MILLÉSIME… The 2016s from the Southern Rhône - Part 1), 88-90 pts

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Alain Jaume Cotes Du Rhone Rouge Haut de Brun is made from 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault

The colour is purple-tinged garnet.The aromatic range of the nose goes from fresh berries (wild raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry) to spices.The palate is big and full-flavoured, with silky-smooth tannins and aromas of the fruit already mentioned. The finish introduces touches of liquorice and pepper. A Côtes du Rhône with great complexity for an every day drinking.

A classic Rhône to drink between 1 and 4 years. Best poured at 17°C.

Traditional wine making and ageing is performed in vats only. Bottling after 10-12 months.

Ideal throughout the meal, but particularly with poultry and other white meats, as well as mild cheeses.

Review:

"The 2017 Côtes du Rhône Haut de Brun is in the same ballpark as the 2016, with a similar level of concentration, yet it has more dark fruits as well as good minerality. This medium-bodied, concentrated, fresh 2017 will keep for 7-8 years.

There are few better run estates in the world than that of the Jaume Family’s Domaine Grand Veneur. Located in the northern part of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and run today by brothers Christophe and Sebastien Jaume, the estate produces a quasi-modern style of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (their Les Origins and Vieilles Vignes) as well as a growing number of negociant based wines from throughout the Southern Rhône. The 2017s whites are terrific across the board, and this vintage has produced charming, pure wines that are already drinking beautifully. The 2016 reds are some of the finest I’ve tasted from this estate."

- Jeb Dunnuck (August 2018, LE MILLÉSIME… The 2016s from the Southern Rhône - Part 1), 88-90 pts

Chateau Mazane Vacqueyras Rouge is made from 60% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre.

Ages in 30% Aged in oak, 70% concrete vats.

Medium-bodied, pure and elegant. It offers plenty of plum, blueberry, spring flowers and peppery notes. Beautifully textured, enjoy it over the coming 6-7 years.

Pair with with duck (roasted or grilled) as well as any grilled vegetables (eggplant, zucchini).

Soil types
The vineyard stretches over the plateau of scrubland that is ideally located between the terraces of the Ouvèze (tributary of the Rhone) and Dentelles de Montmirail, and constitutes pebbles soil debris of Dentelles de Montmirail and clay.

Winemaking
Traditional winemaking, temperature controlled fermentation.

Review:

"Slightly lighter on its feet, with more red fruits, cassis, garrigue, spice, and subtle minerality, the 2016 Vacqueyras Chateau Mazane stays incredibly light and graceful on the palate and has incredible class. Nuanced, elegant and lightly textured, yet brilliantly concentrated and full-bodied, it's another undeniably delicious, seriously good wine from this estate. The blend is 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and the rest Mourvèdre and it has a decade of terrific drinking ahead of it."

- Jeb Dunnuck (September 2018), 94 pts