2020 Domaine De Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône Valley, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge, the bulk of the production at Domaine de Marcoux, is sourced from 13 sites spread over a wide range of terroirs. This allows for a wine that is both dense but pure and lifted with beguiling aromatics. In general terms Marcoux is always inclined towards red-fruit flavors with a smoky stoniness that emerges with age.

Vine age is 50-100+ years old in red clay, galets, sand, gravel, clay-limestone, and marl. Hand harvested, destemmed, fermentation in tank, maceration 203 weeks. 18 Months in concrete tanks, maceration 2-3 weeks. 18 months in concrete tank (90%) and 350L neutral French oak barrels (10%), vegan.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Domaine de Marcoux was a pioneer in organic and biodynamic farming long before it was fashionable, which is now overseen by Catherine with assistance from Sophie’s son Vincent. They farm about 18 ha in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 8 ha in Lirac, and a little over 2 ha just north of Châteauneuf, where they make a lovely and nuanced Côtes-du-Rhône. There is a wide range of soil types from sandy soils in Charbonnières, to red clay and galets in L’Arnesque and Les Bouquets, to limestone and marl in Les Esquirons and Beaurenard, to red clay and gravel in Gallimardes, Les Serres, La Crau, and Les Plagnes. They grow Grenache primarily, with an average vine age of 50 years old, with smaller amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Clairette, and Grenache Blanc.