France is the largest wine producing country in the world. The history of French wine traces back to Roman times. French wine is controlled by the AOC system, Appellation d'Origine Controlee. This system guides as to what grapes are allowed to be grown in each region. The system was created using hundreds of years of growing history and the use of terroir. Terrior is a French wine term that encapsulates all the variables that apply to a wine's tastes…such as soil, climate, and the area the grape is grown.
France is home to many grapes that have now been cloned throughout the world. Not only have France's grapes been replicated, but so have their wine making styles. Even though they are the strongest player in the wine producing world, they now have competition from the new world wine producing countries.
Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is made from Clairette blanche & Rose, Grenache Blanc & Gris, Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Picpoul and Picardan.
Gold bright green color. Expressive nose with pear and stone fruits aromas (peach, apricot) with jasmine and roasted almonds notes. The mouth is smooth and fleshy like stone fruit we can smell, with a long a nice finish.
Review:
Always terrific, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is no exception, and readers who love vibrant, age-worthy Rhône whites can safely buy this cuvée in just about every vintage. Based on 30% Clairette, 20% Grenache Blanc, 25% Bourboulenc, 22% Roussanne, and splashes of Picardan and Picpoul Blanc, the 2023 reveals a medium gold hue as well as textbook aromatics of pear and orchard fruits intermixed with honeyed flowers, chalky minerality, and subtle green almond nuances. This balanced, medium-bodied, vibrant white is very much in the fresh, focused, yet still textured, approachable style of the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% divers.
In contrast to Chaupin, which is made from old-vine Grenache on sandy soils, the cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone. Vieilles Vignes is always the most powerful and concentrated Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée made at Domaine de la Janasse.
Review:
The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes also saw some stems (the estate started keeping some stems with the 2016 vintage) and was 75% destemmed, with the blend being 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, and the rest Syrah, Cinsault, and Terret Noir. As usual, it’s a more powerful, black-fruited wine comparted to the Cuvée Chaupin and has lots of crème de cassis, liquid violet, crushed stone, woodsmoke, and peppery herbs. It displays the vintage’s purity and freshness yet brings the concentration as well as the structure. I’ll be shocked if it’s not in the handful of top wines in the vintage.
-Jeb Dunnuck 96-98 Points
Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is made from 65% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah, 5% divers.
In contrast to Chaupin, which is made from old-vine Grenache on sandy soils, the cuvée Vieilles Vignes is from old vines of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah along with smaller percentages of other permitted varieties that are grown in these old vineyards. The wine is sourced from 4 terroirs: pebbly clay, sand, gravelly red clay and sandy limestone. Vieilles Vignes is always the most powerful and concentrated Châteauneuf-du-Pape cuvée made at Domaine de la Janasse.
Review:
The advantages of old vines are perhaps most evident in the more difficult vintages (whether hot and dry or cool and rainy). The 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes is a strong effort, delivering supple, velvety waves of ripe black cherries and black raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, it's rich and concentrated without seeming at all heavy or unbalanced, finishing long and juicy. It's approximately 75% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 5% Syrah and 5% other varieties, keeping in mind that up to 15% of the old Grenache vines are actually Clairette Rose.
-Wine Advocate 96 Points
Bernardins Muscat Beaumes Venise VDN 100% Muscat petits grains (75% Blanc, 25% Red)
Copper/rose hue and ripe soft aromas of orange, spice and flowers. The wine is full bodied with the texture of silk and flavors of orange custard, white peach, pear, apricot, toffee and orange peel.
The vineyards and their terroir are the essence of our wines. This is where everything starts and where we focus our efforts throughout the year. You can’t make great wine without great grapes.
The viticulture is essentially done by hand. Five people work full-time in the vineyards. They are supplemented by seasonal employees who work during bunch thinning and the harvest in order to bring out the very best in our vines. Working by hand and the attention each vine gets are fundamental. Pruning, de-budding, trellising, leaf removal and picking are thus carried out by hand with the utmost care.
We prepare the soil by using good old-fashioned ploughing. Organic compost is made from grape marc (the discarded stalks and skins).
As a way of protecting the plants, we only use phytosanitary products when necessary and within strict guidelines by staggering the treatments appropriately, to minimise the amount of chemicals used. We prefer to use as much as possible manual and organic techniques . Leaving natural grass cover, removing buds and leaves from the vines, preserving biodiversity around the vineyard: olive, almond and cypress trees, wild rosemary and capers.
In the spirit of respecting traditional techniques and the best elements of modern technology, cellar manager Andrew Hall and his winemaker son Romain Hall take family traditions very seriously.
When making our wines, the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise plays a central role and requires great care. After picking the grapes by hand, we press them straightaway to ferment the juice without skins. We don’t add any yeasts and keep the alcoholic fermentation in check by temperature control. Vin Doux Naturel winemaking involves stopping fermentation to preserve the grapes’ natural sweetness. During vinification, we watch the vats day and night and add the fortifying spirit just at the right moment. At this stage, the wine’s final balance is at stake. The wine is then aged in stainless steel tanks for 6 months before bottling.
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah Swartland is made from 100 percent Syrah.
Grapes for our Boekenhoutskloof Syrah are picked from selected parcels of the finest Syrah, grown at our Swartland farms, namely Porseleinberg and Goldmine, close to the small town of Riebeek-Kasteel. These vineyards were planted on the rocky bedrock of decomposed Mica-Schist, a unique terroir, finding its expression in our concentrated and structured wines made from this Rhône grape.
The nose is perfumed, forthcoming and fresh, offering an array of rich dark fruits with a spicy, floral, even feral character, derived from complex aromas of dark berries, plums, violets, black olives, star anise and potting soil. The black fruits and earthy character of the nose follow through onto a dark, brooding palate with flavours of wild berries, brambles, liquorice, tobacco, cloves and black cardamom. The mid-palate is concentrated, deep, dense and slightly dusty, with dry, very fine cocoa-powdery tannins lending structure. The wine is very precise, with a medium to full body, a tight, grainy texture and vibrant acidity to balance. Blackberries, blueberries and notes of garrigue and dark chocolate linger on a savoury finish.
Review:
Using fruit from two exceptional Swartland sources – Goldmine and mostly Porseleinberg – this foudre-aged Syrah is fresh, subtle and intensely aromatic, as schist Syrahs often tend to be. Complex, floral and refined with remarkable freshness and palate length. Drink: 2020-2028.
– Tim Atkin MW, 95/100
Argot Simpatico Ranch Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Powerful aromas of key-lime, white flowers, orange blossoms and a fierce, flinty, sauvage note define a wildly complex nose. Once in the mouth, gracefully pronounced textures coat the palate delivering an exotic interpretation of cool-climate Chardonnay character — lime peel, orange blossom, ginger and clove —lingerings deep into a vibrant finish.
Planted 1978. Shallow volcanic soils on the gently-sloped, south-facing foothills of Bennett Peak on Bennett Valley’s floor. One of California’s coolest Chardonnay vineyards. In the final year of 3-year draught cycle, Simpatico Ranch saw its earliest ever harvest and smallest crop, exposing a reserve of exoticism and minerality previously untapped. A watershed vintage for both the vineyard, and appellation. Night harvested by hand on 9/16, whole-cluster pressed direct to barrel; no settling to ensure maximum lees contact. Barrel fermented on heavy lees. Malolactic fermentation. 16 months in French oak, 50% new. Finished 2 months in steel tank, low Sulphur during barrel elevage.
Review:
The 2022 Chardonnay Simpatico Ranch comes bounding out with exuberant notes of juicy peaches, ripe yellow apples, and persimmons, followed by hints of fresh ginger and toasted almonds. The medium to full-bodied palate is soft spoken and savory with a creaminess to the texture and lovely freshness defining the long whispery finish.
-Wine Palate 96 Points