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It’s a family affair at Domaine la Garrigue.
As importer Eric Solomon notes…
Domaine la Garrigue was founded in 1850 by the same family that runs the property today, Famille Bernard. Brothers Maxime and Pierre Bernard, of the 5th generation, are at the helm of the estate with Maxime acting as chef while Pierre focuses on the family’s restaurant nestled in the hills below the Dentelles, Les Florets. Their wives, children, nieces and nephews all have roles at the domaine and there is plenty of work for all, as this is the largest domaine in the appellation covering 83 hectares…The average age of their vines is about 50 years old with some vines well over a century. The reticent but very talented Virginie Combe, a member of the 6th generation, is in charge of the winemaking with guidance from Philippe Cambie.
It's an important property in the southern Rhone, and, as such, its truly remarkable how well-priced the wines are given the notoriety, history and reputation of the domaine.
Everything (including the prices!) stands still in time here, concrete tanks, some stainless steel, no ‘barrels’ to note, the simplest implements of winemaking are used to convey the fiery, powerful terroir of Vacqueyras into the bottle.
The family has old vines in three different terroirs of the Vacqueyras appellation, the red-clay under galets plateau of la Garrigue (incidentally where Domaine la Garrigue is located), the sand soils around the village of Vacqueyras and the rocky limestone slopes at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail.
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From these three terroirs they make a bevy of top-flight Vacqueyras wines. But, from the tanks of Vacqueyras that they feel may be too ‘precocious’, they bottle the fabulous Domaine La Garrigue Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Romaine 2016.
Yup, it could be labeled Vacqueyras if they so choose, because Vacqueyras is the only terroir they farm. But, hey we all need something to drink while our Vacqueyras wines are aging so why not a more ‘precocious’ Vacqueyras from old vines at a fraction the price?
Sounds good to me!
But, in fact this wine isn’t all that precocious, the winery’s traditional style of vinification, ‘old school’ if you will with stem inclusion and not a stitch of oxygen or oak, makes this wine as fiery as its brethren, but, in 2016, with the polish and greatness that tends to envelop nearly all the wines from this illustrious harvest.
It’s the best version of this wine we’ve ever tasted (hmmm…we’ve been saying that a lot in 2016). Yet, its true. This wine is simply too complex and captivating for the money to be believed.
It also garnered the highest score ever for this usually best-value wine, which is pretty hard to fathom for us knowing the numbers of cases we’ve sold of this wine over the last 20 years.
Jeb Dunnuck agrees with our best-ever assessment, writing, “The 2016 Cuvée Romaine is another smoking vintage for this cuvée, and in my view, the best to date, surpassing the 2005, 2007, and 2009. Blackberry, peppery herbs, garrigue and hints of leather all emerge from this ripe, full-bodied, incredibly sexy, opulent beauty. With sweet fruit, a stacked mid-palate, no hard edges, sweet tannin and a great finish, this is rockingly good. Buy a case and drink it over the coming 7-8 years. The blend is 65% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre, and 10% Syrah, all from Vacqueyras, that spent 10-12 months all in concrete tanks. 93 points.”
And, unbelievably, this wine stil carries the throwback price of $13.98 a bottle. Remarkable.
Yes, but it by the case and enjoy it over the next five years….Happy Hunting.
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Domaine La Garrigue Cotes du Rhone Cuvee Romaine 2016
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93 Points! The 2016 Cuvée Romaine is another smoking vintage for this cuvée, and in my view, the best to date, surpassing the 2005, 2007, and 2009. Blackberry, peppery herbs, garrigue and hints of leather all emerge from this ripe, full-bodied, incredibly sexy, opulent beauty. With sweet fruit, a stacked mid-palate, no hard edges, sweet tannin and a great finish, this is rockingly good. Buy a case and drink it over the coming 7-8 years. The blend is 65% Grenache, 25% Mourvèdre, and 10% Syrah, all from Vacqueyras, that spent 10-12 months all in concrete tanks. - Jeb Dunnuck
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COMPANY
© 2018 WINE EXCHANGE
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CONTACT INFO
1544 East Warner Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705, USA
PHONE: 1-800-769-4639
FAX: 714-979-1520
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