Region: France - Cotes du Rhjone - Ventoux
Grapes: 60% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 10% Carignan, 10% Clairette
Alcohol: 14.5%
Organic, Hand Harvested
Notes on the Wine
The grapes are entirely hand-harvested. Sorting for quality occurs in the vineyards. The cellar is entirely underground, an important factor for both fermentation and conservation in this hot climate. The Signature Rouge cuvée is a blend of 60% Grenache Noir, 20% Carignan, 10% Syrah and 10% Cinsault. Vines average 40 years of age and generally yield about 40 hl/ha. The harvest is destemmed before being fermented in temperature-controlled tanks. The wine is aged in tanks as well before bottling.
Notes on the Producer
Paul Jeune, the dynamic sixth generation winemaker and owner of Domaine de Montpertuis in Châteauneuf du Pâpe, acquired the Chateau Valcombe in 2000. He is the successor to Claude Fonquerle who rediscovered the potential of this extraordinary site. Fonquerle was a pioneer in his belief that the Cotes du Ventoux could produce wines of great class and complexity. Château Valcombe became the leader in the Côtes du Ventoux appellation thanks to the viticultural practices and the vinification methods introduced by Claude Fonquerle. Paul Jeune remains loyal to that tradition but brings his own sensibility to this value-oriented appellation.
The terroir of Valcombe is situated at an altitude of 1000 feet on the lower slopes of Mont Ventoux, one of the most majestic sites in Provence known as the "Giant of Provence". This elevation offers relief from the hot, dry Mediterranean climate, creating a unique mesoclimate for Valcombe's vineyards. The vineyards are planted to a mix of Syrah, Roussanne, Carignan, Grenache, Ugni Blanc, Cinsault and Bourboulenc and cover 23 hectares. The average age of the vines is 60 years. The majority of the vineyards are situated on rocky, brown limestone soils covered with "galets", rocks worn smooth and round by the Rhône River. These "galets" are beneficial in two ways: first, they prevent excessive evaporation of the scarce moisture in the subsoil; second, they capture energy from the sun during the day and radiate it back on the vines at night. These factors insure ideal ripening conditions for the grapes. The difficult climate, rocky, unfertile soil, and the old vines combine to limit yields and produce remarkable quality.