Les Six, Cairanne AOC MAGNUM - 2018

Rhone Valley - France - 2018 

14.5% ABV 

Tasting notes

2016 Vintage is a bigger and richer vintage than its predecessors. Full-flavoured and complex with the typical freshness and elegance coming from our hillside vineyards. Layers of fruit are interwoven and underpinned by savoury characters of sandalwood, spice-box and cured meat. A plush texture and supple tannins which propel the scents and flavours of peppery red and black fruits to a vibrant, expressive finish.

Food match

This wine has a natural affinity with herby lamb dishes, but would be superb with most grilled meats and roasted vegetable dishes.

Production

The slopes above the village of Cairanne are bedecked with treasure troves of well-established vineyards, steeped in the classic terroir of ‘argilo-calcaire’ (chalky clay) and bristling with parcels of low-yielding old vines, some of very rare and ancient grape varieties. The six varieties, some familiar (Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourvèdre) and others less so (Cinsault, Counoise and Carignan Noir) are hand-picked and hand-sorted to ensure perfect ripeness. Some varieties are co-fermented for greater complexity and all are fermented in large 6,000 litre oak vats by the natural yeasts present on the grape skins. Vinification is traditional, aided by manual pigeage and gentle remontage. Les Six was later assembled and matured, again in the 6,000 litre tronconiques, for less than 12 months and bottled at Domaine Boutinot’s cellars in Cairanne. Les Six is all about elegance and the expression of six different grape varieties in an appellation often dominated by just two. This is a new style of Cairanne which, thanks to the ancient varieties included in the assemblage, is also a Cairanne whose heart holds dear the traditions of yesteryear.