Mordoree Cotes du Rhone Rose 2017

Grand Veneur Cotes Du Rhone Les Champauvins is made of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre

Intense, brilliant garnet-red colour. It reveals lovely fruit, loads of body and a heady bouquet of ground peppers, raspberries cherry liqueur, currants, and spice box. Full-bodied and dense, it tastes more like a "baby Châteauneuf" than a Côtes du Rhône.
A complete wine, rich and elegant, thanks to the harmony of all the elements which make it up.

Drink between 1 and 6 years.

Soil type DOMAINE GRAND VENEUR “Les Champauvins” stretches on 34 ha classified in Côtes du Rhône. The plots are located in the northern border of Châteauneuf du Pape, exactly from 3 meters outside the appellation. A small lane of rocks going through the rocky plateaux has been decided to be the AOC limit in 1936. Here, soils are made of red clay and rocks (pebbled stones of quartz). The quantity of rocks can be amazing as they can completely cover the soil (see picture). In summer and during the day, the rocks temperature will increase to 55°C. This accumulated heat will be get back to the vines during nights . Day after day, this unique phenomenon allow the grapes to reach a perfect maturity and produce a unique wine. Winemaking & Ageing Traditional, in stainless steel vats. Harvest crushed and destemmed. Fermentation in temperature controlled vats at 28°C. Eighteen-day vating period with “pigeage”. Grenache is aged in concrete vats, Syrah and mourvèdre in 4 years old barrelsntense, brilliant garnet-red colour. It reveals lovely fruit, loads of body and a heady bouquet of ground peppers, raspberries cherry liqueur, currants, and spice box. Full-bodied and dense, it tastes more like a “baby Châteauneuf” than a Côtes du Rhône. A complete wine, rich and elegant, thanks to the harmony of all the elements which make it up.

Review:

One of the finest vintages of this cuvée to date, the 2016 Côtes du Rhône Les Champauvins (70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre) is a brilliant, sexy, medium to full-bodied Côtes du Rhône that offers a spectacular bouquet of garrigue, peppery herbs, pine, and sweet red and black fruits. With beautiful complexity, a layered, seamless texture, notable tannins, and a great finish, it easily competes with any number of more expensive Châteauneuf-du-Papes and Gigondas. It’s great today yet will keep for 7-8 years.-Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points

Mordoree Lirac Rouge Reine des Bois equal parts Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre

Color : deep dark red, with blueish hints.
Aromas : highly fruity ( raspberry, billberry, blackberry ), floral (violet) and intense with a grilled touch ( coffee ).
Palate : melted and concentrated tannins, full bodied, very long fresh finish.
Ageing potential : 8 to 10 years

Grilled meats, sauce meats, game birds, game rabbits and semi-mature cheeses.

Review:

One of the finest releases from not only this appellation but the entire Southern Rhône, the 2016 Lirac La Reine Des Bois is a unique blend of close to equal parts Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre that’s brought up in 30% used barrels, the balance in stainless steel. It literally jumps from the glass with loads of blackberry and currant fruits, graphite, charred meats, and peppery herbs. Deeply colored, medium to full-bodied, with sensational purity, give bottles a year or two and enjoy through 2028. It’s another brilliant wine from this estate that’s landed on both feet after the passing of winemaker Christophe Delorme in 2015.-Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points

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% Syrah, 30% Syrah and the rest Mourvèdre and it has a decade of terrific drinking ahead of it."

- Jeb Dunnuck (September 2018), 94 pts

Closeout!

65% Chenin Blanc, 13% Chardonnay, 17% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Viognier

A polished light yellow gold color, this wine has a bouquet of citrus blossom with hazelnut, lemon grass and butterscotch undertones. The wine has a soft sweet entry with a racy linear acidity. Ripe citrus and stone fruit flavours evolve into a lovely lingering dry earthy finish. This is a textured white wine with layers of flavour. Drink 2014-2024.

Reviews:

The 2015 White Blend Terrasse comprises 56% Chenin Blanc, 17% Viognier, 14% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Chardonnay, raised for 12 months in French oak. It has quite an aromatic bouquet of white peach, freshly sliced grapefruit and a touch of lychee, all well defined and vivacious. The palate is very well balanced with a slightly resinous, waxy opening, the Viognier here making its presence felt. There is a pleasant salinity on the finish with a gorgeous brightness and tension. This is a strong follow-up to the outstanding 2014.

- Wine Advocate, 93 pts

The Viognier component of this Chenin Blanc-based blend with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay was increased to 17% in 2015, but it was also picked earlier to retain acidity. The result is a very harmonious cuvee: rose water, aniseed, tangerine, some stone fruit and a tangy, refreshing finish. 2017-21"

- Tim Atkin (South Africa 2017 Special Report), 93 pts

This Chenin Blanc-based blend, with additional portions of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, is delicate in nature, though complex and layered beneath it's reserved surface. It boasts notes of apple flesh, melon rind, yellow flower, fynbos and beeswax on the nose and mouth, with final impressions of orange pith and lemon zest on the enduing finish. Harmonouos and well-balanced, it offers a pleasant, softly astringent texture that lends structure to the medium-weight palate and length to the close. Drink now–2023.

– Wine Enthusiast 93 Points

"This bristles with quinine, mirabelle plum, blanched almond and lemon pith notes, while crackling acidity runs underneath. Rich melon and yellow apple details fill in through the finish, adding bass to match the treble. Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Drink now through 2019. 625 cases made.–JM"

- Wine Spectator (May 31st 2017), 92 pts

Jean-Claude et Nicolas Fayolle Crozes-Hermitage Rouge La Rochette 2015 is made from 25-year-old vines planted on loess and red granitic soils. 100% Syrah.
Wine was bottled in September 2016.

Deep ruby red color. 
The wine has plenty to offer with red and black fruit aromas, as well as a good minerality. 
The finish is long, clean and juicy and offers some white pepper spiciness typical of the best Crozes-Hermitage.

Soil type is red brittle granite and white soil.
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.
They 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.

Review:

"A big step up in quality (for not much step up in price), the 2015 Crozes-Hermitage La Rochette comes from slightly more granite soils and spent 12-15 months in neutral barrels. It has beautiful purity of fruit as well as classic notes of ripe black fruits, bloody meat, saddle leather, peppery herbs, and some telltale minerality. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and textured, it’s a rock star of a Crozes Hermitage to drink over the coming decade or so."

- Jeb Dunnuck (March 27th 2019), 93 pts

Charles Thomas Cotes du Rhone Rose is made from 50% Syrah, 50% Grenache.

This juice is a light pale salmon color. On the nose you will find the classic strawberry along with hints of watermelon. Bright, focused and balanced on the palate with ripe red fruit flavors. Overall an amazing value on a refreshing Rose.

   Review:

"The 2017 Sainte Victoire Côtes de Provence Rosé is a rock star of a rosé and comes from one of the top appellations in Provence, Sainte Victoire. A blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and the rest Cinsault, it has a beautiful array of orange blossom and crushed citrus, with a distinct salty minerality that develops with time in the glass. Medium-bodied, with high yet integrated acidity, it has a great texture as well as ample length on the finish. It can stand on its own on a summer day but will also shine on the dinner table."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 91 pts