Roc d'Anglade - Vin de Pays du Gard 2013
Price: $44.96
| Producer | Roc d'Anglade |
| Country | France |
| Varietal | Other Red Grapes |
| Vintage | 2013 |
| Sku | 602730 |
| Size | 750ml |
Roc d’Anglade might be the best winery you’ve never heard of. Part of that might be that the winery makes its hay in the Vin de Pays du Gard, a respectable area for sure but, it’s more associated with inexpensive wines and as the home for the carbonated water, Perrier. Second, the wine is based on Cargigan which generally isn’t associated with longevity or high quality. Part of the challenge is that Carignan (aka Mazuelo, Samso) is best grown only in dry sunny areas, and it ripens late. It can also be intensely fruity and tannic. It can be attractive from a bulk perspective because its yields can be up to 4x as much as one might harvest in a productive Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. For comparison, one could reasonably expect to harvest 11 tons of Carignan per acre of vineyard in the Languedoc. Contrast that with what one might harvest on a mountain vineyard in the Napa Valley. There your yield would be closer to 1-2 tons/acre. On the Napa Valley floor where the soils are more fertile you’d maybe closer to 4-8 tons/acre. A far cry from Carignan
So why feature this winery and its wine? For one, the winery’s 6-hectare organic vineyard, planted on marly limestone soils ie, ‘good’ soil for Carignan, reflects a dedication to terroir and it’s organically farmed. Founder Pédreno, mentored by René Rostaing, has established himself as one of Languedoc’s premier winemakers, crafting wines of exceptional character since 1999. Rémy tames the vigor of Carignan (55-60%) with old vines and thoughtful blending of Mourvèdre (25-30%), and 10-20% of Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault, creating wines that shine around a decade of age. With whole-cluster fermentations help add freshness, ambient yeast fermentations aid with terroir, and aging in used foudres keeps the wines from being overwhelmed by oak (a big no no with Carignan). With Remy, these wines focus on purity and balance.
2013’s cold, wet spring and delayed flowering impacted Grenache, but late-ripening Carignan thrived under the warm summer, yielding vibrant, well-ripened wines with notable freshness. Now, with over a decade’s worth of time in the bottle, this wine has developed beautifully showing an earthy complexity that offers a touch of warmth.
