| Kevin's comments: Complex, rich and textured, very smooth with hints of liquorice and 'terroir' driven flavours through to a wonderful, long and complex finish. Quite superb. |
DOMAINE LA SOLITUDE, CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE, RHONE
RESERVE SECRETE
Chateauneuf-du-Pape is much the biggest and most important specific Rhone appellation that covers 7,400 acres of vines. Small crops are mandatory. Concentration is the very essence of this wine. Its vines grow in what looks like a shingle beach of big, smooth, oval stones that often cover the whole surface of the vineyard. Each vine is an individual bush.
The Solitude Estate belongs to one of the oldest families in Chateauneuf du Pape. The Lancon family makes their wines with a very short maceration time and therefore their style of Chateauneuf is ready to drink much younger than the traditional tough wine. Their 100 acres are planted in a simplified mixture of Grenache, Cinsault, Mouvedre and Syrah. The family also owns 100 acres of vineyards at Sabran in the Cotes du Rhone.
60% of La Solitude?s production is exported to the USA, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and recently to Asia.
LA SOLITUDE CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE RÉSERVE SECRÈTE
Grape Varieties: 60% Syrah, 40% Grenache.
Soil: Rhone Galettes. Environmentally friendly products are used wherever possible.
Note: This wine is only made in exceptionally good years.
Vines: From a select 30 hectare parcel of land.
Winemaking: Grapes are hand harvested and selected in the vineyard. Thermo-regulated maceration for 1 month with daily remontages. A pneumatic press is used, with free-run juice and press-juice being vinified separately. Malolactic fermentation follows alcoholic fermentation. 80% of the wine matures for 12 months in new barriques followed by a 6 month rest in the blending tanks. The wines then stabilise for a further 6 months in bottle prior to release.
Taste: An inky wine of great complexity and finesse. Will reward careful cellaring.
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