DECEMBER 2024 - GLORY BE! to Grenache

GRENACHE, GARNCHA, ALICANTE, CANNONAU, TOCAI ROSSO,

commonly assumed to be Spanish in origin, most probably from Aragón in the north east [...]. This is one of the world’s most planted grape varieties, not least because it can thrive in hot, dry climates - so it is likely to maintain this position in a world experiencing climate change and where drought seems an increasingly common phenomenon. Considering how common the variety is, it is remarkable that the words Garnacha and Grenache are not seen more often on labels, although the variety is admittedly often blended, particularly with Syrah and Mourvèdre - so often that ‘GSM’ has become an established name for such a blend. As Grenache Noir, this is France’s second most planted variety after Merlot .

-JANCIS-

Domaine de la combe au mas

RIGAOU

2022 - Grenache, Carignan

La Combe au Mas is a wine estate situated at the foot of Mont Ventoux in the department of Vaucluse in the southern Rhône. The estate was established in 2019 by Thomas Ayoun and Marie-Sophie Jullien. The domaine is situated in a unique microclimate where there are considerable differences in day and night temperatures, bringing a very notable freshness to all of the wines.

The vines total roughly 10 hectares and are part of a polyculture approach to farming, which is at the core essence of Combe au Mas. They work their land according to the principles of organic farming, respecting the soil and biodiversity present on their property. They prefer to observe each parcel and plot, allowing them to respond in accordance with the needs of the vines and its soil, respecting the balance and relationship between the two, which includes practicing biodynamics by promoting biodiversity through cover crops and the like in between the rows of vines.

They prefer to vinify their wines with the same approach to the land, in the most natural way possible, without inputs and without any sulphur. The grapes begin fermentation with the native yeasts present in the vines and on the fruit, in addition to the ambient yeasts in the cellar. They guide the ferments through watchful eyes on the temperatures, all the while striving to keep the integrity of the nature of each individual wine.

For this particular cuvée, the Grenache is entirely de-stemmed and the Carignan is left whole-cluster. The grapes are vinified in separate tanks and then blended. The wines are then left to mature in century-old amphorae that Thomas has sourced from the south of Spain. There is no fining, filtering and, depending on the vintage, little to no SO2 additions at bottling.

Fabien Jouves

Grape Invaders

2023 - Malbec, cinsault, grenache

Fabien Jouves is a 5th generation paysan farmer working in the hamlet of Trespoux Rassiels, just west of the Lot department prefecture city of Cahors and within the Cahors AOC in the SW of France. It is a region dominated by two main river valleys, the Célé and the Lot, with abundant hills of forested chestnut and oak trees amidst pasture land for sheep, goat and cattle. It is a land historically known for truffles, grape production and foie gras. Malbec or Côt(as it’s referred to locally) is the main grape variety here. In addition to Malbec, Fabien works with other native varietals including Valdigué, Jurançon Noir, Gibert, Noal, Cinsault, Grenache and Chenin Blanc.

Fabien studied viticulture and enology in Bordeaux from 2002-2006. He made his first vintage in 2006. From the very beginning, he noticed the distinct differences in the soils of his parcels. In 2007, he embarked on a plan to vinify each of the separate parcels individually. The vinifications of the grapes in the cellar are all done naturally, without enological inputs and they rest in a variety of concrete vats, barrels, foudres and amphoras, depending on the wine’s personality and parcel. He set out to convert the farm to organic practices in 2009 and then incorporated biodynamics into his approach in 2011. All in all, it was a 5 year transition to farming with the intent of revitalizing the soil, increasing disease resistance to the vines and making wines of nature in the cellar. These decisions, he felt, were absolutely necessary for allowing him to produce more singular wines, which have the ability to better reflect their original terroirs and the emotions he experiences as a winemaker during each year.

In 2007, 2009, and 2011, as a result of terrible hailstorms and frost, he began a negociant project to ensure his ability to make wine each year, something unique and different from the terroir wines of Cahors. He works with friends in the region and also in adjacent regions, to source organically grown fruit which allows him some freedom to express different styles of making wine, more for immediate pleasure and consumption, which is a direct influence from his peers that continue to inspire him.

Alexandre Hote

Tavel Rouge

2022 - Grenache, Cinsault

When Alexandre Hote celebrated his 40th birthday in 2019, he made a decision to become a winemaker. In the 20 years prior, he had managed the family estate and sold the fruit off to the local cooperative. In that year he purchased a small parcel outside of his family’s holdings and built a new cellar. The decision to make wine certainly was not an afterthought though. He had been experimenting in his garage with small batches for some time. The family holdings are in Tavel and Lirac, combining for roughly 4 hectares of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah. The vines are situated on clay and limestone terraces with lots of small river pebbles throughout. All of the work in the vineyards is done manually.

He draws inspiration from a concept of envisioning a free wine, one that is only constrained by the quality of grapes he is able to farm. Grapes that are able to tell a story of the land they live in and to express the diversity of terroir. He spends most of his time in the vines but now also feels quite comfortable in the cellar as well. With the new cellar, everything is fairly straightforward and simple. He has a small vertical press, a few stainless steel tanks and then a half dozen or so barriques in the small chai he built behind his house. All of his parcels have undergone organic certification. He prefers to harvest his fruit based on ripeness levels and then begins macerations and fermentations separately, before meticulously tasting each tank to make final decisions on the blends before bottling each cuvée.

Alexandre utilizes an individual approach to each vintage and its nuanced differences, choosing to experiment with different levels of maceration, pressings of the juice and whether or not a particular cuvée may spend time in barrique. With that in mind, he keeps a very open and thoughtful approach to each year and what nature intends. He bottles the wines without any additions including SO2, with the help of his wife and their close friends. In his new cellar, he learns every day a little more about the vinification, which he wants to be as natural as possible, in order to get the best expression from this terroir that is so dear to him. The wines reflect that notion, being bright, fresh, vibrant and alive.