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Item Number: 5537

UPC: 3298020477187

Country: France
Region: Rhone Sub Region: Southern Rhone
Appellation/AVA: Cotes du Rhone Villages Laudun AOC
Vintage: 2010
Grape(s): 65% Grenache / 35% Syrah
Type: Wine - Red
Bottle Size: 750ml Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 13
Soil Type: Rocky limestone and hard packed clay



Location: The vines in Laudun located near St. Victor la Coste have a unique characteristic that gives this wine a completely different profile from most of the neighbors in the Côtes du Rhône: northern exposure. In several cooler appellations, vine growers look for southern exposure because they want to maximize the number of sunlight hours.  The Laudun already has too much sun and heat. The vines facing north give the grapes a week or 10 days more hang time. This later harvest allows maximal maturity of the polyphenols in the grapes – making the wine more complex and textured.

Laudun is one of the 4 villages on the west bank of the Rhône in the Gard department authorized by reason of historically high quality and permitted to attach their name to the Appellation Cotes du Rhône Villages. You can distinguish the vineyards in this higher appellation from Côtes du Rhône by the lower organic content of the soil, literally vineyards covered with rocks, and the altitude on the hillsides that give both better drainage and exposition.

Winemaking Notes: The Laudun averages between 13% & 14% alcohol and gets very ripe grapes almost every year. The winemaking is rather traditional, with a extended maceration for color in stainless steel and a medium length fermentation. A small part of the wine sees older, neutral oak barrels to add to the aromatic complexity without any oak taste.

Tasting Notes: This wine has a very complex nose full of fruit mixed with the local garrigue composed of juniper, oak scrub, thyme and wild lavender. Drink this wine through 2013 with wild game, rabbit, rotisserie chicken and roast beef with roasted vegetables.