The area of Rasteau produces some of the most impressive Grenache wines of the Rhône Valley. This cuvée from Santa Duc from the excellent vintage 2010 is an excellent example. Six years of bottle ripening have not affected its strength and intensity. On the contrary, his bouquet seems to have gained even more expression and complexity, while the palate is seduced by soft tannins.

Plums and other dry fruits, honey cake and tobacco, hazelnuts, black pepper and exotic spices in the finish. The richness of its bouquet is extraordinary! With its lemon flavours and freshness on the final, this Rasteau shows a harmonious and full-bodied taste which will embellish your autumn and winter evenings.

FOOD MATCHES FOR CARNIVORES: This wine provokes dreams of rabbits and black olives in the oven, of duck breast with figs and grilled T-bone steak.

FOOD MATCHES FOR HERBIVORES: Mushrooms with quinoa stuffing, vegetable couscous, porcini ravioli with red onion sauce... Don’t be afraid of food with intense flavours.

A nice red wine in the glass, which illuminates the table, a succulent pork roast with fried potatoes and green beans, some pleasant guests ... It is Sunday 12:30, please have a seat! A wonderfull tradition for which even time seems to stop for a few hours to sit down with us at the table.

The Cuvée of Pierre Cros, simply called “tradition”, is a perfect match for these moments. Made mainly from Carignan and Grenache grapes, as the tradition in the Minervois just pretends, as well as a little Cinsault and Syrah, it turns out to be a true Sunday lunch wine. Fruity as you want it to be, spicy as it should be, with gentle tanin structur and crisp acidity refreshing the palate. At the end, the scent of hazelnuts and pineapple is surprising, which definitely settles the wine into the “special wines” category and also confirms that the Minervois is a great wine-growing region and the duo Carignan-Grenache remains unbeatable.

A wine that pleases to everyone at any time, on Sunday, as well as on other weekdays.

In family ownership since 1874, the winery was taken over by Yves Gras in 1985. Yves soon started organic farming in its vineyards in Gigondas, a few years later also in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In the cellar, he keeps no more barriques but large wooden tanks and terracotta amphoras to emphasize the character of the terroir.

The first subtle nose, opens quickly with the scent of spices, as well as fresh raspberries and currants. Balanced in the taste, with pleasant, soft fullness, fresh acidity and dense, high-quality tannins.

The 2010 vintage still is a superb choice in the Rhone Valley. The long, warm indian summer fully ripened the grapes, a good basis for wines with remarkable finesse and harmony.
The Grenache and Syrah grapes for this wine come from the vineyards of Roaix, situated between Rasteau and Vaison-la-Romaine. It fills the glass with a dark, blood red colour and the strong scent of figs and dried apricots, honey cake and licorice. My nose is immediately seduced, fascinated by the intensity of the bouquet, which evolves towards the scent of cherries and more spices.

Fresh acidity, fine tannins, though still young, surrounded by a pleasant smoothness, getting more and more spicy, showing long lasting flavors. Balanced, tasty and still youthful, this wine promises a few more years of storage capacity. If you open it this winter, you should serve it in a carafe.

FOOD MATCHES FOR CARNIVORES: The intensity and the character of the wine deserve a nice piece of grilled meat - beef, lamb, ostrich - without much pose, just with a little salt and pepper. For more complex dishes with spices and sauces, you should wait a few more years, so the wine can fully develop its bouquet.

FOOD MATCHES FOR HERBIVORES: Grilled vegetables in olive oil, fried curry pumpkin with tomato rice, tofu burger with balsamic sauce or wild mushroom Cannelloni ... Go and pull the power out of your vegetables!

Opening a bottle of Vacqueyras always announces a special moment of enjoyment, as well as a delicious dinner. In a certain way the AOC Vacqueyras represents something noble, valuable and historical. Although classified Cru of the Rhone Valley “only” 25 years ago, the wines of Vacqueyras look back on a very long history and they are closely linked to the history of the great wines and terroirs of France.

To accompany this wine, I had grilled duck breast provided by a refined figs duo: half of them grilled, the other half stewed with balsamic vinegar. What a feast! Served relatively cool in the carafe (about 14 ° C), on a hot summer evening, the bouquet was quite explosive and charming from the very beginning, full of plums, walnuts, figs and cinnamon. And on the palate? Soft and round due to the grape varieties (80% GRENACHE and 20% SYRAH), full-bodied and concentrated as prescribed by vintage, backed by pleasant cooling acidity due to the sandy and stony terroir, battered by the cold Mistral wind.

An originally wild, already somewhat tamed wine, whose aging potential should not be underestimated. The wine may indeed show an increasing amount of spice, cocoa and dried fruits over the next 4 to 6 years.

FOOD MATCHES FOR CARNIVORES: Except grilled duck breast with figs, the wine will be delighted by teriyaki beef, but will also appreciate a simple veal roast with it.

FOOD MATCHES FOR HERBIVORES: You should look for intense, concentrated food and flavours to accompany this wine. Tomato oregano tarte tatin, risotto with porcini mushrooms and Hokkaido-pumpkin or Tagliatelle with oyster mushrooms and pesto will perfectly do the job.

This is a topical issue at the moment as thousands of pickers are preparing to harvest the next vintage. Above all, OPTIMAL maturity is a purely theoretical value, because it mostly depends on the style of wine that we want to create. Beyond that, OPTIMAL maturity is indeed linked to factors such as grape variety, climate, terroir and weather conditions, and last but not least to the skill and chance of a winemaker or vintner.

Different components of the grape may be of interest for the winemaker at harvesting time. There are obviously the sugars and acids, but alsoethe primary aromas, anthocyanins (the red colour of grapes) and optionally the tannins. All of them molecules we might want to rediscover in our wine. They all start ripening from veraison on, but not necessarily at the same speed. The sugars increase, acidity decreases, the amount of flavors is growing and diversifying, tannins are increasing in the skin and seeds and become more palatable. But a large amount of sugars frequently is achieved early, while the tannins need more time for ripeness. Depending on the desired wine, winegrowers and winemakers at a certain point have to take decisions and choose tastefull and balanced grapes, according to the wine they want to make. Because OPTIMAL maturity is, above all, a matter of taste and balance!

An example ? GRENACHE NOIR allows both to develop great wines for aging, as well as pleasant and very drinkable rosé wines. In the first case, the winemaker will primarily be interestd in the maturity of the tannic structure. In the case of rosé, fresh flavors and a balance between sugars (which will become alcohol) and acids will be critical. Grapes intended to be used for rosé making will therefore certainly be picked earlier than grapes for making a fullbodied red GIGONDAS or MINERVOIS wine.

In summary: According to ripeness, each variety allows to develop different styles of wine. As the soil, the climate and the vintage have a more or less strong influence on the ripening of grapes, it’s up to winemakers to choose the OPTIMAL maturity, and set the ideal harvest date for their “dream wine”.

It almost seems a bit silly to point out that a wine comes up with aromas and taste of fresh grapes. Isn’t that obvious? Well, it’s not that obvious at all, because through maturity, vinification and aging certain wines may somehow drift away from the initial raw material. Thus, their bouquets suggest a big amount of fruits (peach, apricot, fig, banana ...), spices (cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, star anise ...) and even plants (fern, mint, hay ...), thus hiding the grapes.

This is not so in this case. This wine is pure grapes! I even hear hear the crunching of the berries in my head at each sip. Being a good ol’ traditional Languedoc wine, it’s manly made of CARIGNAN, GRENACHE and CINSAULT, nevertheless authorizing the grandiose SYRAH to participate in the feast. A few months of ageing in concrete tanks protects the wine from outside temperatures in a natural way, preserving freshness and authenticity.

Fresh grapes, cherry, currant and strawberry, as well as a tad of elderberry wood and that’s it! Smooth on the palate, with crisp acidity and fine, low profile tannins. Generous and fluid, it will help all CARNIVORES to finish the BBQ season. During fall, with its rain and decreasing temperatures, it will enhance the taste of a coq au vin or add a little sunshine to a risotto with sun-dried tomatoes and prosciutto. Being a true multi talented wine, it will also offer many opportunities for HERBIVORES to feast: the first fried mushrooms, penne all’arrabiata, risotto with porcini mushrooms… You name it!

"You know, this is a wine that I am obviously liking right now, but I could see laying a few bottles of this down for 2 or 4 years, and see some interesting development on it. Good stuff!