2016 Martinelle Rhone Blend

Aromas of red berries, garrigue, light pepper. Bright and fresh, with flavors of raspberry and red plum. Hand-harvested, with grapes sorted in the fields and at the cellar. Grapes are destemmed and crushed, then fed via gravity into unlined cement tanks and fermented on indigenous yeasts. After malolactic fermentation, the final blend is assembled and aged further in tank. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.   Estate vineyards are located in the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail, east of Gigondas. The predominant soils are Trias (decomposed limestone with iron-rich, ochre topsoil); other areas have richer, clay-based soils. Vineyards face east/southeast; a majority of parcels are found on a broad, terraced hill that at its peak is 300 meters high.  Blend:  65% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre, 2% old-vine Carignan, young Counoise, Terret Noir and Vaccarèse