Back in 2016 a discussion between Florent Lancon, of Domaine de la Solitude, and the French wine critic Michael Bettane was the catalyst for an incredible wine cuvee.
Domaine de la Solitude is one of the oldest estates in Chateauneuf du Pape, tracing its history back to the 13th century with no less than a Pope in the family tree! It has been run by the Lancon family for many decades and was one of the first domaines to estate-bottle.
The idea was to produce a wine as a tribute to their ancestor Paul Martin, who was one of the first French vignerons to sell his wine in bottle in the 18th century under the name "Vin de la Solitude".
Records at the domaine showed that blends at that time were very different. Whilst Grenache is the workhorse of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the 21st century, hundreds of years ago, things were very different.
Florent modeled the new wine on the old blend of 30% Counoise, 25% hundred year-old Grenache noir, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, 5% Clairette, 5% Bourboulenc, 5% Roussanne, Clairette rose and Grenache blanc. Two things are immediately obvious - the wine contains a huge amount of the rare Counoise grape (less than 0.5% of Chateauneuf is planted to this variety) and quite a portion of white grapes, still allowed in Chateauneuf but only used by a few producers.
Counoise is a dark-skinned grape that does not produce a lot of colour or tannin. It is used by domaines, including Chateau Beaucastel, to add spiciness and acidity. The presence of white grapes add a lightness and freshness.
Today we present the newly announced Vin de la Solitude 2019. Like past vintages it is available in a Wooden Case of 3 750ml bottles or as a single 1500ml Magnum.
Rhone Guru Jeb Dunnuck describes the vintage "The 2019s will be a step up over the 2018s and offer more depth, concentration, and richness, all while showing considerable purity of fruit and elegance. While the year will be known for its hot, dry summer, the region saw substantial precipitation late in 2018 as well as early in 2019. A normal spring (just under 100 millimeters of rainfall) saw a healthy fruit set and yields are up over 2018 and 2017. This early-season rainfall is essential when trying to understand the vintage.
Looking at the wines, these are inkier colored, concentrated, full-bodied wines that stay surprisingly focused and lively on the palate. Despite the hot growing season, the wines hold onto impressive aromatics, with clean, pure fruit aromas and little in the way of over-ripeness. Tannins across the board appear to be ripe, the wines have plenty of mid-palate depth, as well as length, and I found few signs of over the top wines. Quality throughout the Southern Rhône Valley also appears to be high.
I’ll review these wines in depth next year, but in short, 2019 appears to be a beautiful, possibly exceptional, vintage for the Southern Rhône and is superior to 2018."
For a limited time we offer the 2019's at a 25% Pre Arrival Discount.
We also have small quantities of the 2018 available. Jeb Dunnuck says "It’s a singular, gorgeously complex wine that tastes like a Grand Cru Burgundy made in the South of France."
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