Here is an absolute no-brainer for those who love Grenache from the Southern Rhone. Anne Pichon's Old Vine Grenache is a wine that would give many Chateauneuf du Papes a serious run for their money.
Rich, ripe, spicy, and jammy, this easy-to-like red is made even more likable by its soft and supple tannic structure.....and its price. Translated, this stuff is big and bold yet soft and opulent, and it comes to you at less than $25. I highly it, and I've got 10 cases up for grabs at deal pricing.
2020 Anne Pichon Sauvage Grenache 'Vieilles Vignes'
"A Grenache lover's dream wine! Rich, ripe, opulent, and pleasure-bent." - Josh Spurling - 94 points
ORDER NOW in our online store. We will apply deal pricing once we receive your order.
If you haven't figured it out yet, I am a sucker for Southern French Grenache, and this is another excellent version. From a small, independent, wife and husband led, certified organic estate in France's Ventoux region, this stuff is absolutely delicious. It's got plenty of the classic French "stuff" that Francophiles love, but it's also got plenty of ripe fruit, and I think our New World wine lovers will like this one too.
Anne Pichon and her late husband Marc moved into an abandoned farmhouse at the base on Mont Ventoux in the mid 1990's. With the farmhouse came 15 hectares of vineyards that had been untended for years. Luckily, the vineyards were already organic, and the Pichons decided to keep them that way. They slowly nursed the vines back to health and production, and today, Anne produces about 40 barrels of wine per year for her US importer T. Edward.
Anne's Grenache vineyards were originally planted back in the early 1970's and more importantly, they are located at 1,000 feet in elevation and they face southeast. The higher elevation combined with warmer, sun-trapping exposure yields a wine that is both ripe and elegant. Fermented in cement vats with native yeasts, this is Grenache in its purest and most unbridled form.
What's it taste like? I know that's the question on every reader's mind. It's deeply colored, and the nose is packed with ripe blueberry, plum, white pepper, and lavender aromas. Even better on the palate, this stuff is sumptuous and full bodied yet fine grained and plush. Wonderful flavors of warm, sweet berries, exotic spices, and garrigue are all offered up on a smooth and plump palate.
I can't wait to pop a bottle of this with some braised short ribs and cheesy polenta, but I'll probably drink a bottle without food before I do that. Enjoy this wonderful, family-made Southern Rhone now and over the next 5 to 7 years.
ORDER NOW in our online store. We will apply deal pricing once we receive your order.
Josh Spurling
Owner, Operator, Wine Monger
Table Wine Asheville