Region: France - Cotes du Rhone
Grapes: 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah, 5% Vaccarèse, 5% Carignan
Alcohol: 14.5%
Notes on the Wine
Organic, sustainable and naturally fermented using indigenous yeasts.
Each varietal used to make this wine was aged in concrete. It offers up a pretty, perfumed bouquet of sweet berry fruit, crushed flowers and hints of herbs that flow to a medium-bodied, elegant and seamless Cotes du Rhone that has loads of character. Finesse and balance are the buzzwords here and it will impress for four-to-five years.
Notes on the Producer
Philippe Bravay is extremely dedicated to preserving the unique traditions and special characteristics that Châteauneuf brings to the world. Domaine de Ferrand is a contained operation with only 7.5 hectares of Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards spread over six parcels in four lieu dits, half of which are forty-five-year-old vines and half are ninety-five-to-one-hundred-and-ten-year-old vines. They now also have 9.5Ha of Côtes-du-Rhône. He follows organic growing techniques and limits yields strictly (his Côtes-du-Rhône is less than 2.5 tons to the acre yield, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape even less).
Philippe's vinification philosophy is the same for all his wines, he uses an in-tank traditional method, "I do not use barriques because I want the wine of my vines and not a technical élevage which loses the origins of the wine." There is no filtration, only one fining for each wine. During aging, the wine is neither racked nor blended - both of those processes are accomplished only at the time of bottling and without the addition of preservatives.