Domaine de L'Arnesque Côtes du Rhône 2014

This is the most modestly priced of our Domaine l'Arnesque range, but there is nothing modest about this wine. Not that it's arrogant and brash. Oh no, that wouldn't do. We're English, after all.

 

We just mean that it has vivacious floral, herbal notes amongst juicy blue fruits and generous, Christmassy spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise that are quite enough to make you forget your English reserve, put down your tea and high five the next person you see.

Julian Biscarrat and brother-in-law Sebastian began a small but successful negociant business around 12 years ago, based in the town of Jonquiers in the Southern Rhône. They could see where all the best fruit was coming from and with the proceeds of the business began to buy up small parcels of precious old vine fruit. The first estate bottled wines were in 2005 and they have gone on to make beautiful, critically successful wines ever since.

Julian and Sebastian are passionate about the benefits of old vines and handle the fruit very sympathetically in the winery, to craft precision wines with profound clarity of flavour, freshness and minerality.

The grapes are mostly estate-grown, all from mature vines. The grapes undergo a 20 day maceration, with regular punching down prior to pressing and fermentation in stainless steel tanks. After that the wine is blended and moved, in part into neutral, 600 litre oak barrels, and partly into stainless steel for six to eight months. The wine receives a further four to six months bottle age prior to release.

Fleshy and pure, this Côtes du Rhône has bags of floral, herbal notes amongst juicy blue fruits and warm, Christmassy spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise.