Carignan Vieilles Vignes 50ans d'Âge
IGP Côtes Catalanes
Languedoc's iconic, historic grape variety for this label is selected in the Côtes du Roussillon appellation itself. Carignan excels on poor, dry hillside sites exposed to direct sunlight and Roussillon is well suited to the variety's needs. The complexity of the wine is revealed in its small yields (30 hl/hectare) and two complementary winemaking techniques: whole cluster soaking reveals an array of red fruits where the fine grain finesse in terms of flavour comes from thorough destemming. About Carignan: the writer Guy Lavignac (Cépages du Sud Ouest', 2001) ascribes its establishment in France to pilgrims returning from Santiago de Compostela in the Middle Ages. They found its full bodied, fruity flavours appealing as well as its propensity to age when the fruit comes from old vines (>30 years old) grown on poor soils Carignan became fashionable in the 1990s through carbonic maceration and some growths such as Boutenac have made it their signature varietal. It accounts for 30 of the varietal range in our southern French appellations.
Carignan
16-18°C
The vines are located on weathered schist soils in the foothills of the Pyrenees overlooking the Roussillon plain. The climate is mitigated by mild MEditerranean weather but also marked by the strong prevailing Tramonte wind and outstanding sunshine levels.
The vines grow in characteristic terraced vineyards. These old-vine Carignans are trained as bush vines and the fruit is picked by hand.
The fruit is hand-picked, destemmed, crushed and then put into tanks. Traditional maceration methods are used with particular attention paid to temperatures. Pumping over is used at the start of fermentation and rack-and-return during the second phase, which brings greater concentration to the wine.
This wine can be enjoyed throughout the meal and pairs with local cold meats, meats in a sauce and soft cheeses.
The wine displays an intense black hue with purple tints. The nose is powerful and driven by jammy black berry fruit notes and spices. The palate is concentrated and soft.
