Domaine Grand Nicolet, Rasteau, Vieilles Vignes 2012
CellarTracker Member
The first ha of the estate was planted in 1875 and the cellar built up in 1926. It was then the first private cellar of Rasteau. The real start in vine growing started in 1930, when Maurice Leyraud (the grandfather of Jean Pierre Wife) decided to plant Grenache and Carignan, instead of cereals and olive trees. In 1989, Jean Pierre started to work in the estate at 24 years of age, and in 1999 he took over management of the entire estate. At that time, he asked a dear old friend of his, Philippe Cambie to help him with his wine business. Today, Jean Pierre is running a 20 ha estate and annually produces nearly 200hl in Cotes du Rhone and 500 hl in Rasteau. The estate is composed mostly of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre, on clay and limestone soil. Harvest is destemmed at 100% and vinification takes place in concrete tanks and old french oak barrels.Muscular Rasteau wine with a varietal composition of 50 % Grenache, 35 % Syrah and 15 % Mourvèdre (clay and limestone soils). The three varieties were vinified separately and aged in concrete tanks ; only the Syrah component was partly matured in oak barrels (twelve months). I gave this wine about sixty minutes of air prior to consumption. Dense dark red colored wine revealing scents of kirsch liqueur, dried herbs, licorice and a hint of graphite. The full-bodied, alcohol dominated palate shows ripe bramble and plum fruit and still quite present tannins. Spicy aftertaste. (12/10/2017)