CLOS DES FRER[ES] - Cuvée G - Red - 2019 - Ghent winemaker Erwin Devriendt Southern Rhône – France

Clos des Frèr[es] Cuvée G - Red - 2019 - Ghent winemaker Erwin Devriendt Southern Rhône – France

Attention: very limited production (barely 300 bottles)

The Cuvée G from Clos des Frères and from Domaine les Ondines is a special product, which is only produced in special vintages for the 'grenache'. This wine is the result of a special vinification of exceptional quality Grenache grapes from the dry Vacqueyras plateau 'les garrigues'. The vineyard consists of very old vines of 80 years and more. The yield of this vineyard has been naturally reduced to a maximum of three trusses per vine, which means barely 20hl/ha. Due to the age of the vineyard and the purity of the grapes, it is possible to extract pure finesse from the lushness of the Grenache. In normal (and lesser) vintages, these Grenache grapes end up in the respective Vacqueyras wines of Erwin (Clos des Frères) and Jérémy (Vacqueyras Passion). In exceptional quality years, the grapes from this plot are picked separately, vinified and reared in 500 l oak barrels. The care of this wine is exceptionally dedicated and occupies a completely separate place in our cellar. To date, a Cuvée 'G' has only been produced in the years 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2015.

They have now become real collector's items. From the 2015 millésime, there is a separate Cuvée G from Clos des Frères and a Cuvée G from Domaine les Ondines. Due to the exceptional millésime, a Cuvée G was also produced in 2019.

Vinification

Hand-picked on September 28, 2019, with a very strict selection on grapes, not de-zipped and vinified in open wooden Burgundian cuves. The grapes are crushed with the feet. Very slow maceration at low temperature. The malolactic fermentation took place in old barrels of 500 l. The wine continues to mature in these old barrels for more than a year. Very low filtering, hardly any sulfites. Everything is organic from vineyard to bottle.

Production

300 bottles

Terroir

A small plot on the plateau of Les Garrigues, belonging to the Vacqueyras appellation, is sloping to the west, dotted with large white boulders. The subsoil is quite calcareous, combined with crumbled loam fragments and pebbles.

Grapes

100% Grenache Vieilles Vignes

Philosophy of the winemaker Erwin Devriendt

The philosophy of Cuvée G is also special. Based on the firm conviction that 'grenache' as a noble grape can easily match (and in some cases exceed) the olfactological qualities of 'pinot noir' and 'nebiolo', the intention of the creation of the cuvée G was precisely to meet this to show. We all know the well-known (and priceless) Chateau Rayas, which, on the one hand, succeeds in raising Châteauneuf-du-Pape to a higher level and at the same time creating something unique for the future. Well, in the same vein, with Cuvée 'G' we want to show that on a terroir of the cru Vacqueyras one is perfectly capable of producing something similar. Erwin has already won one bet with the production of the 'G'. The Cuvée 'G' can compete with the great Bourgognes and Barolos.

Wine and food

This wine is made for the future and is a real wine for storage. The acid balance has been strongly sought to make precisely that fraicheur in the wine sustainable. The wine balances between elegance and red fruit finesse. At a young age, the tannins can disturb the suppleness of this wine, but will disappear harmoniously into the fine material of the wine after two years of cellar rest. It is a wine for great moments and because of its complexity, it is not easy to serve with anything. It is not a blockbuster, nor a fruity seducer, but a wine that requires the necessary reflection. Unlike the G 2015, the G 2019 is slightly darker, fuller and meatier. This G is very reminiscent of the G 2012, also thanks in part to an incredible storage potential.

It is therefore good to serve it with dishes that are served with refined sauces with fish, poultry and delicate roasted meats. Avoid dishes that are too sweet, too oily or too pigmented with this wine. Elegance is the central symbiotic concept for both in the glass and on the plate.