Domaine des Carabiniers, Appellation d’Origine Protegée, Côtes du Rhône 2011 (Red)
Tasting Notes : Black fruit aromas – blackberry and black currants. Very light hint of lavender in the bouquet. Spices and deep berries on the palate.Lively. 2011 is still a bit young (as of this Fall 2012 writing). Decant it. As it gets air, it takes on more backbone and its future finesse becomes more evident. Crimson red. 13% alc. EcoCert – NOP – BioSuisse.
Production Notes : Controlled temperature fermentation. Night harvest of these vineyards located close to Avignon to avoid use of SO2 and prevent oxidation. Natural yeast fermentation. 50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, 10% Cinsault.; Average age of the vines is 35 years. There’s a transparency to the wine. It could be a result of its organic identity, but you get the sense that there’s nothing hidden, nothing masked here.
Pair With : Grilled white and red meats, warm salads, pasta. Keep 4-5 years. Or drink now.
“After all, great wines can only be produced by working with nature, not struggling against it.” – Christian Leperchois
Domaine des Carabiniers gets its name, and its emblem of a horse with an olive branch in its mouth, from Christian Leperchois’ great-grandparents who first set up their winery in what was then the stables. The vineyards stretch over 40 ha. across the right bank of the RhôneRiver. Several appellations are included within the property: Tavel, Côtes du Rhône, Lirac and Vin de Pays d’Oc.
Organic vineyard management and grapevine farming is more than a philosophy for Leperchois, it is a way of life. His vineyards have been under organic cultivation, which he likes to call “natural cultivation” since 1997. He cites examples of soil depletion on highly commercialized vineyards where nothing is retained by the grape, save its genetic varietal origins. To make good wines, you must give your grapes the best of all possible worlds – and for Leperchois this is organic cultivation, going in the direction, even, of biodynamism since 2011.
On his fifteen ha. on the Côtes du Rhône vineyards the good groundwater sources bring out the grapes’ fruity aromas and character and also give the wine its length on the palate. On his 5 ha. parcel in the Appellation Controlée Tavel, the fields of limestone which were once garrigue scrubland, allow for only low yields but this is what gives this classic and original French rosé wine its long finish and aromatic depth.
Pliocene sand and pebbles are what characterize the terroir on his Appellation Lirac Controlée vineyards and what account for the wine’s “smoked” liquorice and tobacco notes.
Domaine des Carabiniers – Roquemaure, France carabiniers-organic-wine.com
Chérie Du Vin 