Vieux Carignan
Very intense purple-red hue. 2016 was an exceptional vintage for Carignan as it was extremely hot and dry. Explosive red fruit aromas, much like the juice of very ripe grapes, with spices such as cinnamon and pepper adding richness to the aromatic spectrum. With a powerful attack, the palate is dense but fresh on the finish, with spicy and flinty aromas intertwined with notes of black fruit. This old Carignan is the embodiment of the Mediterranean temperament and the typical characteristics of our Languedoc garrigue
Technical sheet
Appellation
IGP Côtes du Brian
Vintage
2016
Varieties
100% Carignan
This wine comes from a solitary group of Carignan vines planted in 1890. For 125 years, these vine stocks (the few casualties from over the last 120 years have been replanted on the same trunks) have yielded grapes perfectly adapted to their surroundings. Neither drought nor disease has managed to affect the quality of the grapes which possess a genuine local character.
Production
30 HL / Ha
Alcohol
14.5% alc./vol
Terroir
Clay-limestone
Vinification
The grapes are hand-picked and placed into small trays (caissettes). They are then destemmed, but left uncrushed, before being going into vat. Alcoholic fermentation lasts for 15 days at a temperature between 25°- 30°C. A major aerated pumping-over operation is carried out half-way through the alcoholic fermentation. The rest of the pumping-over is light, lasting only 5 minutes each day. The wine spends 27 days in vat and is then racked off and settled several times before being going back into vat for the start of malolactic fermentation.
Ageing
Aged in vat 12 months
Recognition and awards
- Bettane & Dessauve 2019 - page 602 14/20 Read article
- Sam Kim (Wine Orbit) 2018 93/100
- Jancis Robinson 30/09/2017 17/20 Beautiful, slightly wild fruit ... Read article
Geographical location
Find out more about the area
