One to add to a magnificent group of Rhone reds now at Oddbins by this modern and dependable new supplier. Domaine de L'Arnesque have given us a good little portfolio of reds that sing the virtues of their house style. That style is well-represented here: full-bodied, unfailingly solid, sturdy and fruity, with plenty to taste, and the balancing zeal of some rounded tannins.
Julian Biscarrat and brother-in-law Sebastian began a small but successful négociant business twelve years ago in the Southern Rhône. Gradually, with the proceeds of the business, they began to buy small plots of precious old vines. In 2005 they were able to produce their first estate grown and bottled wines.
The grapes undergo twenty days maceration with regular punching down prior to pressing and fermentation in stainless steel. After that the blend is assembled and the wine moved to 600 litre oak barrels (between one and three years old) for the next twelve months. After bottling, the wine receives a further six months maturation before release.
Julian Biscarrat and brother-in-law Sebastian are young men on a mission. They love the things that others hate and in this part of the world that means they love the gobelet! Yes those stumpy, low yielding, backbreaking old vines, predominantly of Grenache, are the things that light their fire. It's the perfect fruit that these vines offer up, so sympathetically handled in the winery, that enable the boys to craft precision wines with profound clarity of flavour, freshness and minerality.
