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70 Cairanne Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages AC 2008 Réserve des Seigneurs
Domaine de l’Oratoire Saint-MartinGrape:60% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah (14% alc.)
The Alary brothers believe that a good proportion of mourvèdre (30% here from old vines on a south facing hillside) is vital both to temper the power and complement the grenache. This cuvée drinks well in its youth and it offers attractive dark cherry fruit and spice with good length on the palate. For drinking now to 2013.
Technical Information Winemaker: Fréderic & François Alary. The Alary family have worked the vineyard since 1692. Location: Cairanne (north-east sector of appellation, only 200 mtrs from edge of Rasteau appellation) Size of
domaine:28 hectares Grape: 60% Grenache (50 yrs old), 30% Mourvèdre (50 yrs old), 10% Syrah (26 yrs old). 5000 vines per hectare gobelet formation planted on Rupestris du lot rootstock. Selection massale. Terroir: Limestone clay with lots of river pebbles – on 20° slope. Mourvèdre faces due south – grenache to the south-east. Quartier called St Martin. Viticulture: Planted on rootstock not found today. Plough between the rows – plough 3 rows and leave grass herbs to grow in the 4th. Lots of herbs can be found – rocket v. noticeable. No chemicals have ever been used in the vineyard. The vine roots reach 15mtrs in length. Vines are gobelet, pruned to 5 branches with 2 buds on each branch. Debud and carry out vendanges en vert. Use sulphur against oidium. Yields around 28 hectos per hectare. Vinification: No artificial yeasts, and sulphur added only at bottling. Meticulous selection of grapes. Made first in the vineyard and then via a table de trie both in the vineyard and the winery. 90% destalked, keep stalks from bunches harvested the latest. Use cement for vinification and elevage. Chill down to 8° or 10° for 3 days then saturate with C02 to clear oxygen; after average 3 days alcoholic fermentation starts; max temperature at 28° is very low - 20 days of cuvaison. Use 1 remontage every day, no pigeage since 1997 or delestage. Keep cap submerged below the level of wine at end of fermentation only. Pneumatic press. Press wine kept separately. Racked 3/4/5 times, syrah & mourvèdre most, grenache less. 1st after malos finished in Feb/March. Unfiltered but fined with egg white. August bottling with their own equipment. Press: