The Heritage Club - July 2021
This month we feature two wines from Domaine de Cristia in southern France. Both of these wines would be a hit at your summer BBQ with friends, a fresh Rose, and a bold Grenache. Baptiste Grangeon, the lead winemaker at Cristia displays his craftsmanship through these excellent wines. Two French wines at this quality are hard to find at this value, so enjoy this summer with friends at an outdoor gettogether.
Côtes de Provence Rosé by Domaine de Cristia 2020
Producer: Domaine de Cristia
Winemaker: Baptiste Grangeon
Region: Provence, France
Grape Varietal: Cinsaut, Grenache, and Syrah
Viticulture: Twenty-Five-year-old vines produce fruit harvested from fields with predominantly limestone soil.
Method: Aged six months in stainless steel tanks.
Serving Suggestion: Serve cold with a salad course, or even better, with a shellfish dish.
Age: Drink now or keep for another year, two at most.
Nose: Citrus notes with a hint of stone fruits, most notably, peach.
Tasting Notes: The palate begins very fresh with floral and citrus notes and finishes with a hint of saline that invites a litany of pairings.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS WINE
If you're going to drink imported Rose, and by all means do, make sure your wine fridge has room for Rose from Provence, France.
Rose occupies an odd space in the wine world. To some, it represents fruity and sweet wine only, which could not be further from the truth. To others, Rose is an exciting avenue to try blending unique grape varietals and experimenting with various flavor profiles. We certainly believe in the ladder, Rose can be so many things and should be enjoyed by all that enjoy wine.
As with most other Rose, this wine is great on a hot summer day and when served cold it's as good as it gets. This wine showcases the terroir of its region exceptionally well, especially for a Rose. Provence is located in the French Riveria and the hint of salinity in this wine calls out to its seaside locale in the Mediterranean. An expression of place is what most winemakers strive for and Baptiste Grangeon achieved his vision with this wine. Get outside with a cold bottle of Côtes de Provence Rosé by Domaine de Cristia and you will not regret it. And we bet that the cork will not be needed after opening.
2020 Domaine de Cristia Grenache
Producer: Domaine de Cristia
Winemaker: Baptiste Grangeon
Region: Rhone Valley, France
Grape Varietal: 100% Grenache
Viticulture: Thirty-five-year-old vines planted in clay and chalk soil types.
Method: Twelve months in concrete casks to age.
Age: Drink now or keep in proper conditions for up to 3 years.
Serving Suggestion: Serve room temperature with any summer barbecue.
Nose: Earthy with jammy aromatics of wild fruits such as raspberries and strawberries with a slight hint of cocoa.
Tasting Notes: Fresh red berry fruits with a nice amount of tannin and distinct butterscotch note that intrigues.
WHY WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS WINE
Most of the time we drink Grenache in blends, so sampling a single variety of this grape is always very fun. Grenache tends to be a masculine wine that shows a lot of earthiness and interesting flavors. This particular wine, made by an excellent winemaker, displays many attributes of a classic Grenache.
Where this wine slightly deviates from a classic style is the butterscotch note that comes through at the finish. Butterscotch is mostly found in Chardonnays and some other red wines, but we have not noticed it in a pure Grenache before, which is quite interesting.
If you are a red wine drinker and enjoy a summer barbecue, this wine is calling out to you. This Grenache will elevate sauce-driven BBQ and is still light enough to still be enjoyed on a hot and humid Ozarkian day.
For those Cabernet-focused wine drinkers, give the Rhone valley a real shot and see what wonderful wines come from this region. Rhone wines pack a punch with lush flavor and supple tannin. The winemaking in this region is quite refined and features some of the best wine-making terroir in the world, not to mention some of the most skilled winemakers on earth.