I’ve posted numerous times about this producer over the past year and I’m still beating the drums…  This is easily one of my favorite wines from them and while it really needs a year of two to let some of the oak integrate, I think it has the fruit and concentration to really be something special down the road.

2005 Domaine Boisson Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne L’Exigence (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne)
A real wow wine, the 2005 Domaine Boisson Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne L’Exigence is a blend of 66% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 6% Carignan and 6% Mourvèdre and possesses a black/purple, opaque color along with blockbuster aromatics of smoky dark fruits, coffee bean, raw meat and subtle spice aromas. Very dark and rich with obvious barrique influence, this has serious palate presence with medium to full body, stunning purity and edge, rich fruit and a long finish. Give this a year or two to soak up some of the woody notes and then drink over the next 8 to 10. (91 pts.)

Domaine Saint Luc

www.domaine-saint-luc.com
Route de Suze la Rousse
26790 La Baume de Transit
France Tel : 33 (0) 4 75 98 11 51 Fax : 33 (0) 4 75 98 19 22
US Importer:  Ventoux Fine Wines, LLC

This estate was created in 1971 and is located in the “Drôme Provençale” Region of France (think northern part of the Southern Rhone.)  Currently run by Stéphane Hémard and Rémi and Estelle Cook, the estate covers roughly 30 Hectare spread throughout the Tricastin Hills and Cotes du Rhone region with vineyards maintaining a similar clay and rolled stone profile.

While the domaine produces a number of cuvees, their L’Excellence de St Luc is the flagship wine and comes from old vines from the estates best parcels.  A blend of mostly Syrah with small quantities of Viognier, this wine sees 100% destemming and is aged in both barrel and vat.  While I have a preference for the ‘05, both of these wines show considerable finesse paired with admirable purity, freshness and balance.  Both bottles improved with air and I’d recommend drinking the ‘04 over the next 5 to 6 years whereas the ‘05 would be a candidate from hanging onto for a year or two to see if it gains complexity.

2004 Domaine Saint Luc Coteaux du Tricastin L’Excellence de St Luc (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Coteaux du Tricastin)
A blend of Syrah and Viognier, the 2004 Domaine Saint Luc Coteaux du Tricastin L’Excellence de St Luc possesses spicy, slightly reticent aromatics of cassis, plum, dusty earth, leather and meaty notes and with air, picks up a touch more richness with subtle graphite and chocolate notes emerging. Medium bodied in the mouth, there’s plenty of sweet fruit to go along with a smooth, balanced texture and a medium length finish. I’d drink this over the next 5 to 6 years. (88 pts.)

2005 Domaine Saint Luc Coteaux du Tricastin L’Excellence de St Luc (France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Coteaux du Tricastin)
The 2005 Domaine Saint Luc Coteaux du Tricastin L’Excellence de St Luc (97% Syrah and 3% Viognier) is a step up from the ’04 with pure, clean aromatics of cassis and plum fruit, violets, lead pencil and smoky, charcoal and chocolate nuances.   This leads into a medium to full bodied wine that displays considerable polish along with a smooth, rich texture, beautiful balance and a medium to long finish.   While approchable now, this should benifit from a year or two in the cellar and drink well over the next 8 to 10 years.   (90+ pts.)

This Domaine continues to produce beautiful, well made wines that show clean fruit paired with plenty of southern rhone typicity… and at the roughly 10 dollar price point, is a no brainer.

2007 Domaine Boisson Côtes du Rhône
The screw cap bottled 2007 Domaine Boisson Côtes du Rhône is a blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Cinsault and 5% Mourvedre and possesses beautiful aromatics of wild strawberries and raspberries intermixed with hot asphalt, underbrush and garrigue aromas. This leads into a medium bodied palate that’s beautifully balanced, soft, textured and down right gulpable with a drink me now, hedonistic demeanor. Drink this beauty over the next 5 or so years. (89 pts.)

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Le Ventabren
The 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne Le Ventabren is a blend of 70% Grenache (50/60 years old), 20% Syrah (35 years old) and10% Carignan (55/60 years old) and sees cement tank aging before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. The nose shows ripe, heady notes of black cherries and raspberries mixed with minerals, earth and subtle spice notes. Fresh and lively, this fleshed out in the glass and has impressive purity and fruit. It’s medium to full bodied in the mouth with a fantastic, silky texture, beautiful balance, sweet fruit and a long finish. This is a smooth, polish Côtes du Rhône to drink over the next 10 years. (91pts.)

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Vin de Pays Le Petit Scarabee
Offering up notes of sweet dark fruit, spice, underbrush and leather, the bistro priced 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Vin de Pays Le Petit Scarabee shows ripe, interesting aromatics, medium body, a light mid-palate and a ripe, tannic finish. Textured, delicious and easy drinking, the lack of depth in the mid-palate and tannic finish suggest that this is better drunk young. (87 pts.)

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce Blanc
A beautiful wine, the 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce blanc (a blend of 40% Roussanne, 40% Marsanne and 20% old Clairette & Grenache) offers up crisp, clean aromas of pineapple, green apples, minerals and flowers. These lead into a medium to full bodied white that possesses vibrant acidity, juicy fruit, plenty of edge and clarity and a grippy, long finish. While this shows lots of palate cleansing acidity, it has the fruit to back it up. (90 pts.)

2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce Blanc
In a different style than the 2007, the 2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce possesses deep, rich and almost musky aromatics of honeyed pineapple and tropical notes, candle wax, minerals and white flowers. The palate is medium to full bodied with a lush, soft texture, beautiful balance and an impressive finish. While lower in acidity when compared to the 2007, it might just have more fruit while still showing plenty of edge and cut. (90 pts.)

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Les Antimagnes Rosé
Showing fantastic aromatics of wild strawberries, cherries, minerals and baking spices, the completely dry 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Les Antimagnes is medium bodied, balanced, crisp and pure. This has great acidity, ripe fruit and plenty of length on the finish. (90 pts.)

The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 1, Rasteau
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 2, Les Hautes Granges
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 3, Héritage 1924

Traci and I meet up with a small subset of the local Denver crew last night for a fantastic evening with some great bottles. The venue was Mark’s fantastic abode in downtown Denver and due to showing up late, the festival was in full swing when we arrived.

The night started off with a beautiful bottle of 1990 Domaine du Pégaü Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée. Rich, aromatic and full bodied, this didn’t seem quite up to a previous bottle but was drinking fantastically none the less. There’s still some tannic grip on the finish and this doesn’t seem to be fading to me.

A corked bottle of 1990 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Pignan Reserve was a let down but just to put it in perspective, Mark had the bottle sitting next to his corked 1986 Château Mouton Rothschild… suddenly the disappointment for the Rayas was transferred to the Mouton. Hilariously, Mark had opened this bottle weeks ago but was still hanging onto it… probably just to remind himself to sell his remaining bottles.  I had to try it… and can confirm that it was corked… and had been open for some time.

A still young and enjoyable 1998 Louis Bernard Châteauneuf-du-Pape was followed up by the 1995 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I’ve had this multiple times recently and it’s still a pup in terms of development. Clean, pure and very aromatic, this is still tight on the palate. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to trying the 1994 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape and you have to be quick around this crowd as the 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape had long since disappeared.

The 1999 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve was fantastic. Rich, complex and with a sense of elegance, this is beautifully balanced with youthful fruit and complementing oak, fantastic texture and a long finish. Would easily pass for a Bordeaux.

The mammoth 2002 Alban Vineyards Pandora didn’t seem to go over too well with the group but was stunning in its concentration, depth and richness. Heady notes of blackberry, cassis, violets, minerals and scorched earth come leaping out of the glass of this beauty and the palate is full bodied, textured, precise and very long. Still extremely young, this needs 4 or 5 years in the cellar.

Despite having Mitch Hersh in the crowd, burgs/pinots were in short supply. A slightly tired 1985 Echezeaux (I failed to get the producer) improved over the evening but was eclipsed by a rocking 2004 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir East Block. Filled with sweet cherry flavors mixed with vanilla and spice, this had a great palate that was balanced, rich and long.

At this point in the evening, Mark graciously opened a staggering bottle of 1990 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire that was filled with massive garrigue, spice box and stone notes blended with sweet red fruit aromatics. Despite seeing close to 18 months in new oak, this doesn’t show a hint of wood and is intense, perfumed and complex. This continued to flesh out in the glass and showed a full bodied palate with rich fruit, awesome texture and a finish that just wouldn’t quit. Drinking at point and simply a stunning Chateauneuf!!

Prior to capping the evening with cigars (and some laser pen debauchery) a rocking bottle of 1988 Château Rieussec was sucked down with an orange glaze coated vanilla cake. Sweet, balanced and filled with marmalade and apricot jam notes, the palate is balanced, rich and long.

Wines:

The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 3, Héritage 1924
This 100% old vine Grenache cuvee comes from a steep, south easterly facing vineyard in Rasteau that was planted in (or prior to) 1924. The plot features steep, rocky slopes and is at an altitude of 200 meters. As is common with this producer, everything is 100% destemmed and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The style of these wines is ripe, clean fruit paired with serious texture and balance and they offer a polished, elegant drinking experience. Both the 2006 and 2007 share the same silky, textural impact in the mouth but where the 2007 is perfumed and complex with mainly red fruits, the 2006 is slightly more closed and reticent with darker, earthier notes. These were consumed over a period of three days and they held up beautifully and are highly recommended!

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau Heritage 1924
Ripe, heady and beautifully perfumed, the 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau Heritage 1924 offers up pure and clean aromas of kirsch liqueur, raspberries and licorice intermixed with sweet spice and subtle garrigue notes. There’s nothing rustic or unrefined about this and the palate is pure silk with a suave, seamless texture, full body and perfect balance that carries into a long finish. This is a ripe, elegant and beautifully built wine.  The balance and fruit should have this drinking well over the next decade or more. (93+ pts.)

2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau Heritage 1924
The fantastic 2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau Heritage 1924 is slightly more restrained than the ‘07, possessing deep, rich aromatics of licorice infused black cherry, hot stones, flowers, graphite and subtle meaty notes along with notable purity, finesse and subtlety. The palate is full bodied and possesses a drop dead gorgeous, silky, seamless texture that offers up a level of refinement that’s hard to come by from the south of France. Beautifully balanced and polished, this picks up fine grained tannins on the long, persistent finish and should drink well for some time. (92 pts.)

Part 1 and 2 can be found here:
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 1, Rasteau
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 2, Les Hautes Granges
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 4

Coming from a single north westerly facing, cold and windy vineyard in Villedieu, Domaine des Escaravailles Les Hautes Granges bottling is 90% Syrah from 30 year old vines and 10% Grenache from 60 year old vines and sees up to a year in barrique. Hand harvested, meticulously sorted, 100% destemmed and bottled unfined and unfiltered. In a good year 5,000 bottles are produced.

All in all, these are fantastic wines that break the stereotype of muddled, overripe Syrah from the south of France with beautiful purity, lifted aromatics, lush textures and plenty of flesh to go along with their unique characters.  While there’s certainly similarities between these wines, each has a very unique character with the 2007 taking the fruit bomb status, the 2006 showing stunning purity and edge, the 2005 a structured tannic and streamlined profile and the 2004 showing rich fruit with nice complexity.  All cellar worthy, interesting wines!

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges
The viscous, glass staining 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges possesses a stunning deep purple, completely opaque color along with blockbuster aromatics of earthy blackberry jam, cassis, earth, licorice and chocolate aromas. While this is aged in new oak, there’s not a hint of wood showing and in the mouth, it’s full bodied with gobs of sweet fruit, glycerol and a soft, lush texture. Despite the size, the purity is outstanding, it’s well balanced and has nice acidity keeping things interesting and fresh. It has sound structure hiding under the fruit but I can’t see any reason to wait. (92/93 pts.)

2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges
The 2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges offers up a rich, deep bouquet of blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with new oak, graphite and chocolate aromas. Beautifully pure and clean, this has nice precision, freshness and cut to the aromas and in the mouth, it’s full bodied with decadent fruit, impressive balance and a long finish with ripe tannins. This shows more precision and obvious oak than the 2007 and I’d drink it over the next 10 or so  years. (93 pts.)

2005 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges
Very northern rhone’esk on the nose, the 2005 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges possesses fresh, crisp aromatics of raspberries, leather, minerals and fresh cut flowers.  There’s subtle spice and graphite notes mixed in and this shows nice complexity paired with rich fruit.  This leads into a medium to full bodied wine that has a streamlined, smooth texture, crisp acids and a solid, tannic underlying structure.  Firms up on the finish and while approachable now, is a candidate for short term cellaring. (91 pts.)

2004 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges
Roasted herbs, blackberry, charcoal, bakers chocolate and a big dollop of dirt come jumping out of the glass of 2004 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix Les Hautes des Granges and as this sat in the glass, it gained both complexity (cigar, smoke and meaty notes) and fruit intensity.  The palate is medium to full bodied with stunning fruit, a rich, mouth filling texture and a long finish where fine grained tannins show up.  While this lacks the freshness of the younger vintages, it shows impressive complexity, solid fruit and plenty of character.  Drink over the next 10+ years.
(90 pts.)

The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 1, Rasteau
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 3, Héritage 1924
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 4

2007 Domaine La Garrigue Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Rhône
A perennial overachiever, the 2007 Domaine La Garrigue Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine doesn’t disappoint and offers up a spicy, provencal nose of licorice infused black cherry, leather, spice and garrigue and aromatically, this is more in line with the 2004 than the 2005.  The palate is well above its price point with rich, solid fruit, fresh acidity and ripe, savory, mouth coating tannins on the long finish.  A beautiful wine that’s planted firmly in the south of France… and sells for a song.  Thank you Eric Solomon!
(92 pts.)

The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 1, Rasteau

In Provencal, Escaravaille means beetle and the name of this domaine comes from the nickname given by the Rasteau people in the 17^th century to the monastic order called the “Black Penitents of Avignon.” This order worked the vineyards wearing long black cloaks and when seen from the village below, the monks looked like beetles scurrying among the vines.

Gilles and Daniel Ferran

Located just outside of Roaix, this estate has been owned by the Ferran family for three generations and was purchased by Jean-Louis Ferran in 1953. The estate has since passed to Jean-Louis’s grandson, Gilles Ferran in 1999 and after years of selling their grapes to the likes of Chateau Beaucastel and J.L. Chave, bottled their first estate wine, the Rasteau “La Ponce.”  Gilles Ferran studied oenology in Montpellier (alongside his long time friend and current consultant, Philippe Cambie) and then worked with his father Daniel in the winery prior to taking the reins in 1999.

The domaine spreads over 40 hectare on Rasteau and 25 Hectares on Cairanne, Villedieu and Saint Roman with diverse soils but a common calcareous and clay sub-terrain.

And now onto the wines…
These are imported by Peter Mesrobian of Ventoux Fine Wines, LLC and I was able to purchase all of these through Flickinger Wines in Chicago. I’ve grouped them in some semblance of order with the first part covering their two Rasteau bottlings, the Classique and the more serious “La Ponce” bottling.

2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau Classique
The bright purple colored 2007 Domaine des Escaravailles Cote du Rhone Village Rasteau Classique is a blend of 70% Grenache (40 year old vines), 30% Syrah (30 year old vines) and offers up a pretty bouquet of raspberry jam, black cherries, fresh cut flowers, black pepper and mineral nuances. Beautifully pure and clean, the Grenache is front and center and this has nice lift, freshness and verve. The palate is medium bodied with light concentration, sweet, beautifully textured fruit, impressive balance and a long finish. Drink this over the next 4 to 6 years. (88 pts.)

2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau La Ponce
Sporting a deep red, semi opaque color, the 2006 Domaine des Escaravailles Cote du Rhone Village Rasteau la Ponce (80% Grenache from 80 year old vines and 20% Syrah from 35 year old vines that sees 2 to 3 year old barrels; 100% destemmed) possesses deep, rich aromas of macerated bing cherries, dusty earth, minerals and bakers chocolate. With air, this shows hints of barrique with candle wax and subtle meaty notes. This leads into a medium to full bodied wine that has rich fruit, a full, savory texture, admirable balance and a long finish. This has depth and sweetness to the fruit but also balancing acidity. The quality fruit and underlying structure should have this wine drinking well over the next 10 to 12 years. (91 pts.)

The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 2, Les Hautes Granges
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 3, Héritage 1924
The Wines of Domaine des Escaravailles – Part 4

2006 Juliette Avril Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
The 2006 Juliette Avril Châteauneuf-du-Pape sees partial destemming and predominantly tank aging but with 10% of the blend going to barrels. It offers up a fragrant, straightforward bouquet of black cherries, framboise, licorice and sweet spice aromas and while not terribly complex, it does have nice purity and lift. The palate is medium bodied with a soft, supple texture, nice balance and a medium length finish. This lacks concentration and depth but offers a lot of pleasure in an easy going, drink me now style. (88 pts.)