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Wine Description
The Story
This cuvée's primary source is a very steep, terraced vineyard in the Côte Brune above Ampuis. The soil here is notably more limestone schistous, whereas the old-vine source in the Côtes Blonde, more acidic and sandy, provides wine of less dense color. Together these wines create a seamless whole in one of the most exciting appellations in the Northern Rhône. Pure Syrah (Michel adds no Viognier), grown at minuscule yields from 70 years old vines, gives this wines power and spiciness, and perhaps less outright mass than any of the Ermitage selections. Yet its sensual thrills resonate long after the taste has been consumed, and its gain in time of more earthy and smoky notes so typical of great Côte-Rotie make it one of the world's unique wine wonders.
Grape variety:Syrah.The average age of the vines (more than 60 years old) is a guarantee of an exceptional quality product.
Soil:Chlorite and ferruginous mica-schists blending in loess depressions and earth veins. The plot producing this wine is located on the border of the “Côte Blonde”.
Harvest: Hand-harvesting at maturity.
Winemaking: The grapes are entirely destemmed and vinified in concrete tank. Daily pumping over ensure a good extraction of the colour and tannins. The temperature of vinification does not exceed 32°C. Only the free-run juice is used.
Maturing: Entirely aged in oak casks (225 liters), with a proportion of new ones between 14 and 18 months.