Made only when our assemblage tastings of La Côte Sauvage reveal two outstanding barrels – ‘Deux Barriques’ – that merit bottling in their own right. Presented in a wooden gift box vintages include the celebrated triumvate of 2010,2011 and 2012, with vintages from 2015 onwards released as cru Cairanne AOC.
Made from low-yielding old vine Grenache and Carignan Noir, with Syrah and Mourvèdre grown in the hills above the village of Cairanne in the southern Rhône Valley. Hand-picked grapes are vinified only by naturally occuring yeasts, aided by manual pigeage and gentle remontage in open topped oak vats (tronconique). Les Deux Barriques is matured for up to 24 months in French oak demi-muids (600 litre barrels); the wine is neither fined or filtered before bottling at Domaine Boutinot in Cairanne.
Tasting notes
The hallmark of ‘Les Deux Barriques’ is finesse not power. Explosive aromas and flavours of astonishingly ripe red fruits interlaced with mocha and seductively sweet oaky nuances crescendo in an enticingly smooth and silky palate of intricacy and surprising delicacy.
