2009 Domaine Marcel Richaud - Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne

36% Grenache, 38% Mourvèdre, 18% Syrah, 8% Carignan

The 2009 has a dark red colour, with ripe red fruits and blackberry on the nose. The fresh aromas and flavours are complemented by supple tannins and underlying fruit intensity. As with Marcel Richaud‘s other wines, this wine is characterised by its purity and juicy fruit appeal that matches the elegant feel and fine texture on the fine finish.

Marie and Marcel Richaud run Domaine Marcel Richaud, with Marcel as winemaker and Marie as
manager. Marcel tends 40 hectares of vines, his own or his neighbors', and vinifies the grapes of
about half this surface. His estate is made up of plots inherited from his parents and of rented
parcels, so some grapes are sold to the local coop or to négociants. There are less Grenache vines
than on most estates of the area, just 25% of the varietals grown, and the same amount of Syrah and Mourvèdre. The remainder of the estate is 10% Cinsault and 15% various local varietals. This mix is one of the reasons why Richaud's wines have such great balance and finesse. Mourvèdre especially plays an important role in toning down the alcohol degree that Grenache easily reaches in a warm year: it requires more sun and later picking, and in Cairanne it is at the northern edge of its growing region. As is often the case, a varietal gives its best and most nuanced in such "border" territory.