Mas de Chimères - 'Nuit Grave' - Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre - Terrasses du Larzac, Languedoc, FR - 2020
Regular price $31.00
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Request a Case OrderThis wine is exemplary. Deep and rich and yet full of energy, savory fresh herbs, the vivid whipping dust of the high terraces. This wine is France in a bottle, Fresh and yet ancient.
The soil's deep red color is due to its high content of iron and oxide. Blocks of basalt (black stone) are present from the volcanic eruptions of vallée du Salagou.
All the grapes hand harvested are destemmed. The different varieties are vinified separately in tank with varying lengths of elevage. The wine is then aged in 400L, 500L and 600L old oakbarrels for 12 months.
Proprietor
Guilhem, Palma and Maguelonne Dardé
Size 24 hectares
Farming Organic (Certified)
Soils Clay, schist, granite, decomposed basaltic slate colored by iron
Grapes grown Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Merlot, Syrah
Fun facts The red hills in the area are one of a kind. The closest description would be the deserts of Tatooine, the fictional planet in Star Wars.
For over 20 years, Guilhem Dardé meticulously tended his family vineyards and brought his grapes to the local coop to be blended with the overproduction of his neighbors. Finally, he bought winemaking equipment, scandalized the village and struck out on his own. With the 1993 vintage he tasted his own wine for the first time.
A self-described paysan
vigneron, Dardé approaches vinification with enthusiasm. His "Nuit Grave" is a blend of about 70% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 5% each Cinsault and Mourvèdre; the proportions vary according to the vintage
This wine is dark purple, with a ripe of cloves, cinnamon and coffee, is spicy and concentrated on the palate
The considerable amount of tannin is balanced by rich, soft matter and the finish is long, with notes of licorice, coffee and kirsch. This wine is aged in barriques and bottled unfined and unfiltered
The abundance of pigments and solid matter results in a noticeable sediment in the bottle.
Traditional methods are used in the vineyards: plowing only copper and sulfur treatments and manual harvesting In this remote corner of the Coteaux-du-Languedoc appellation vines grow on strips of clay/schist/granite soils forming terraces on the arid, strikingly red slopes (which indicates decomposed basaltic slate colored by iron). Poor soil and dry harsh weather conditions ensure low yields and high concentration.