Crous St Martin Vacqueyras Les Volutes 2019
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Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Silky ruby color. Floral nose, which develops towards aromas of blackberries and baking spices. Refined freshness. Long.
Blend: 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Cinsault
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Vacqueyras Les Volutes should be an outstanding wine. Deep purple-colored, with a great nose of red and blue fruits, candied violets, new leather, and cracked peppercorns, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a soft, supple, elegant texture, and plenty of length. It has loads to love and should drink nicely right out of the gate.
Barrel Sample: 89-91
The soil is composed of river stones, the famous "galets roulés", which got cumulated in the area millions of years ago, during the ice age period. These stones are made of quartzite, a pure and hard silica. This layer of stones is sometimes several meters deep, and mixed with a brownish clay. From this soil the wine gets its depth and concentration. The stones cumulate the sun heat during the day, and reject it during the night. They also have a second soil type, less known, but equally important: an alluvial soil of fine sand mixed with clay. This soil type if very beneficial for the finesse and elegance in the wines. The mixture of these two soil types brings a lot more complexity in our wine and continuity over the different vintages.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
This charming appellation within the Côtes du Rhône Villages was second only to Gigondas to earn its own village appellation status. Its wines may be red, rosé or white—though hardly any is white. Its high winemaking standards follow many of the same rules as Chateauneuf-du-Pape. But for Vacqueyras red wines, half of the grapes have to be Grenache and the remainder is usually a combination of Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault.
While they can be robust and rustic in style, typically a great Vacqueyras red combines delicate aromas with intense fruit and a bright, crisp texture. They certainly don’t lack any character and show an abundance of black cherry, wild berry, plum, fig, baking spice, and a touch of game or smoke.