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2020
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La Vallée
CRU DES COTES DU RHONE CAIRANNE WHITE
This wine is an invitation to explore a geologically unique terroir in Cairanne, the Gayère Valley, renowned for the freshness of its marbled clay.
THE 2020 VINTAGE
The summer of 2020 enabled the grapes to reach superb levels of ripeness. The Roussanne particularly stood out in this vintage for its complexity and smoothness, giving body and depth to La Vallée 2020. Its aromatic notes come principally from the Viognier and its freshness from the Clairette, with the White Grenache adding texture and nuance.
Golden highlights illuminate the pale-yellow hue of this wine. The nose is typical of Roussanne, with its fragrant aromas of honeysuckle and iris, complemented by the White Grenache that adds its notes of fennel and white peach. The richness and the complexity of the aromas are immediately striking. It is a beautifully mouth-filling wine with notes of fresh walnuts underlined by the subtle influence of barrel ageing, and an elegant finish of honey and elderflower.
From 20,00€
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Blend | Clairette, Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache blanc |
| Format | 75cl |
| Bottles number | 9 500 |
| ABV | 14% |
The Gayère Valley takes its name from river that runs through it. It is renowned for the freshness of its marbled clay soils which make it an ideal terroir for gastronomic, fresh, and elegant white wines. Situated to the south of the village of Cairanne, below the road that runs from Cairanne to Rasteau, this terroir is made up of colluvions rich in moisture retaining silt, with few stones but occasional gravel and pebbles. The clay is marbled, with limestone nodules and abundant pseudo-mycelia, forming substrata that enable to vines to suffer from only moderate hydric stress.
Parcel numbers
Clairette n°50
Roussanne n°29 & 49
Viognier n°30
Age of vines
10 years
Altitude
130m
Yield
40 hL/ha
HARVESTING & VINIFICATION
The grape bunches are picked whole, by hand, into small crates of 16kg maximum, in the cool of the early morning for these exceptional parcels.
On arrival at the cellar the grapes pass into a vibrating hopper to preserve the integrity of the berries. They are then entirely destemmed. Following this they are directly pressed in an axially fed, closed cage pneumatic press. The whole process is gravity fed. Only the core of the press wine is retained from 0.6 bars.
The juice is then cold settled at 12°C, to retain only the fine lees, and seeded with selected yeasts. Fermentation takes place in thermo-regulated conditions stainless steel vats at 14-18°C with macro-oxygenation throughout. We preserve the natural levels of malic acid by blocking malolactic fermentation. The lees are stirred into suspension before the wine is racked and then aged on fine lees.
30% of the blend is aged for 9 months in new barrels from three cooperages, selected for their unique aromatic character. The remaining 70% is matured in stainless steel vats.
Harvest date
Roussanne : 4-5 sept. 2020
Grenache Blanc : 7 sept. 2020
Clairette : 1 oct. 2020
Viognier : 1 sept. 2020
Temperature of grapes at reception
15°C
ENJOYING IT AT ITS BEST
The ideal serving temperature is 11 / 12°C.
La Vallée 2020 can be consumed immediately or be cellared for up to five years. It is the perfect companion for trout gravlax, veal roasted in a herb crust, or an exotic fruit pavlova.
TASTING NOTES
96/100 – IWC 2020
Trophy Winner – Best Rhone Valley White
“Lemon sherbet on the nose with lime blossom and quince, orange peel, fennel and pink grapefruit on the palate. Bite and persistence, with juicy texture and superb acidity. Good potential for ageing. Powerful and well balanced”
John Worontschak & Jamie Goode
ANALYSIS
Residual sugar
Final filtration
Tartaric stabilisation
Protein stabilisation
Total acidity
pH
Malic Acid
< 2g/L
0,65 microns
10 g/hl
40 g /hl
3,57 g H2SO4/L
3,48
1,6 g/L
TASTING VIDEO
La Vallée 2020 by E.COUZI
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