Blend of Grenache, Merlot & Syrah

This blend offers a nice ruby red colour, the nose displays expressive aromas of blackcurrant and red fruits. THe wine is smooth and round in mouth with polished tannins and an enjoyable balance.

60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Carignan 

50 hectolitre /hectare 

Located in the Gard, 10km south of Lirac, the tiny village of Estezargues (384 habitants) has been dedicated to producing wine for centuries. In 1965, eight winemakers decided to create "La Cave des Vignerons" in order to share their passion for winemaking. They decided to produce wines, which are representative of the local land, using local grape varieties while respecting the environment by following a restrained viticulture "lutte raisonnee" for nearly 50 years.

Vinify without sulphites at low temperature and they neither filtrate their wines nor fining them. The resulting wines are full of fruit and sun, thanks to the warm Mediterranean weather and low yield.

Aged half in French and half in American oak barrels, this shows a lovely, deep, youthful colour - and delivers stacks of fresh black fruit - bramble and blueberry. Fine and silky. 

Definitive wine for carnivores; and should keep very well too. 

Initially the aromas are all confectionery and white cherries followed closely by a young vibrant perfume and notes of orange oil. 

On the palate there's bright red mouthfilling fruit with undertones of savoury dusty dark berry fruits and spice. 

A peppery and meaty syrah with botanical aromas of thyme and Herbes de Provence. This wine is bright and fresh with great concentration, focus and energy 

From a record-breaking dry summer, this fruit was sourced from a hot pocket site on our Brookby Hill Vineyard in the Southern Valleys. Hand harvested off „first pick‟, single cane vines, the crop was extremely light due to meticulous bunch thinning carried out 

to allow full maturity. The fruit was then co fermented with 5% viognier in open top fermenters with 30% whole clusters and traditionally foot stomped. Lightly pressed into 25% new and seasoned French oak barrels, the wine aged for 11 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered .

The journalist Pierre Guigui wrote: “This is serious stuff, far from the gluggles that come and go. There is a very nice background,

Salinity, structure, very dense juice but still fresh. ” (in Le vin naturel au délà des modes, May 2021)

At last, in 2019, a bit of “normality” in the weather, and very nice grapes in the end! It wasn’t until autumn 2019 that the sky became a little wild and we were happy for the water tables…

In bottle, you would discover a vintage more typical from our area : a beautiful, dense dark red colour, a little more substance in the mouth, and varietal aromas that are very present.
A nice ageing in bottle is expected.

Blend: 60% Grenache, 40% Syrah

Blocks: 20 L’Amandier; 10/37 Puech Redon Yields: 14 hl/ha

Process: aged 16–20 months in new Austrian and French oak casks of 400, 500l and 600l. Production: 1,800 bottles
Without fining or filtration 

MEZURA 

Blend: 70% Syrah, 30% Carignan
Blocks: 25 La Cape, 29/30/31 Le Nectar, 19/21/22 Les Borios, 27 Le Dôme
Yields: 18 hl/ha
Process: 30% aged 16–20 months in new French oak casks of 400l, 70% in stainless steel. Production: 6,200 bottles
Without fining or filtration 

CORTEZA

Bottled on May, 5th 2021 !

Technical information (or upload it below) :

For this vintage, I still practice plot selection :
70% of Grenache in goblets planted in the year of my birth (1967) are blended with 25% of 36 year old Carignan and a pinch of Syrah.

The sandy-clayey soils are partially covered with pebbles that were once rolled by the river.

The vinification is classic: whole bunches of grapes are hardly crushed, cement vats, quick blending … Aging between 6 and 9 months in stainless steel tanks.
Annual production: 3000 bottles.
Total SO2 19 mg/l only in bottle.
Degree: 14% alc.vol