Terroir
Age of the vines: 40-60 years
The vines are located on three different types of soils:
- Alpine Diluvian large round stones (famously known as “galets roulés”), giving the wines backbone and structure;
- Urgonian limestones, essential for minerality;
- Sandy-clay soils from the Miocène, for finesse and elegance.
The plurality of these terroirs give the wines both very good balance and complexity.
Exposure: Mostly South-West
Altitude: 40-100 meters
Vinification
After having undergone an extremely thorough selection on the sorting table, which is the key stage at la Gardine for the future quality of the wine, the grapes are cooled down.
Château de la Gardine is one of the last remaining estates in Châteauneuf du Pape to blend grapes before vinification, which is the traditional way of making wine in the region. A synergy between the varieties arises during the winemaking. While Grenache is the heart of the mixture, Syrah enhances wonderfully the aromatic potential. Moreover, Syrah neutralizes the tendency towards premature oxidation of the Grenache grapes. The final balance of the wine would not be nearly as good if the different varieties of grapes were fermented separately and only mixed later on.
Usually all the stalks are removed, but some can sometimes be left according to the ripeness of the stalks and the grapes.
The cap of grape skins is treaded down twice at the beginning of alcoholic fermentation, followed by recirculation in large stainless steel tanks. After alcoholic fermentation, the wine remains on the dregs for another 5 – 10 days and is then transferred by gravity into concrete barrels for malolactic fermentation.
Depending on the harvest, the wine ages during 9 to 14 months, 60% in vats and 40% in 1 to 6 year-old 225 litres oak barrels.
Visits
Velvety tannins soften down by the bottle ageing. On the palate, distinctive notes of tobacco and leather.
To serve
Best served at 18°C.
Aging potential
For those who want to enjoy the fruit generosity of this wine, drink now. For those who set the delicacy of silky tannins as a priority, wait a couple of years. For the most patients, this wine can lie down in your cellar, stored in good conditions, for 10 to 15 years.
Roasted quails with cherries and balsamic reduction
Provencal Beef stew (« Daube provençale »)
