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61 Côtes-du-Rhône AC 2005 Vieilles Vignes
Domaine de FerrandGrape:90% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Cinsault (14% alc.)
Côtes-du-Rhône from a good Châteauneuf estate is always a great bargain. Philippe Bravay selects only 25% of his wine for bottling – from the best sites and 50 year old vines. The 2005 is a revelation – destalked 100%, it is really spicy on the nose, with beautifully composed fruit, lots of character and complexity. For drinking now to 2011.
Technical Information Winemaker: Philippe Bravay Location: Between Orange & Châteauneuf du Pape (Quartier Les Grès) Size of
domaine:16 hectares inc 9 hectares of CDR (12,000 bts of CDR produced). 25% bottled. Grape: 90% Grenache, 7% Syrah, 3% Cinsault/Mourvèdre. Planted 1930-1950 in 5 parcels. Rupestris du Lot and R110 root stock with a density of 3,000 vines per hectare. Vines goblet except for syrah. Terroir: Elevation of 60 metres with a 5% slope. Lower lying terraces of the Rhône; limestone/clay and quite sandy in places; less stony than CNDP Viticulture: Sowed special grass to limit the yield of the syrah; fertilisers only added irregularly after soil analysis. Ploughs the soil from April to mid-July during the Mistral. Sulphur to treat oidium. Occasionally adds potash to the soil. Vine branches ploughed back in to soil. De-buds but no vendanges en verts. Manual harvest and uses a table de trie. Yield average 35 hectos per hectare. Followed by 2 oenologues, analysing work both in vineyard and winery. Vinification: 90% destalked and crushes. Natural yeasts only. Chills down to 18 to 19C° to 2 days – doesn’t want an explosive start to the fermentation. Natural yeast. Vinifies in cement and inox. Mostly ferments at 28° to 30° max. All grapes vinified together. Gives grapes oxygen during alcoholic fermentation but not during cuvaison. Remontage morning and afternoon -no pigeage or delestage. Alcoholic fermentation lasts 5-7 days and cuvaison averages at 15. Continuous press -Vin de presse assembled from the start. Aged in cement/stainless steel with 2 rackings (1 before and 1 after malo). Fined with gelatine, no filtration. Bottled in November after 14 months. Production of 11,000 bottles. Press: