2014 Réserve du Soleil

Each spring our winemaking team begins tasting the wines of the previous year’s harvest barrel by barrel. The goal is to make detailed notes about each barrel, which are then used to guide us as we begin blending. Sometimes a certain vineyard block or barrel catches our attention during this process, raising the possibility of assembling a unique blend to highlight it.

This was the case in 2014 with our Mourvèdre from Ciel du Cheval Vineyard on Red Mountain, a wine typically blended into Bésoleil. From the first day of crush, we couldn’t help but notice the intense aromas of white and black pepper, fresh-picked boysenberries and plums. We knew immediately that we had something special on our hands (literally)!

Throughout our blending trials, this Mourvèdre continued to shine, exhibiting smoky black fruits and that precious, earthy “garrigue” character of the southern Rhône. It eventually formed the core of the first-ever Réserve du Soleil (51% Mourvèdre, 27% Cinsault, 18% Grenache, and 4% Counoise) and the wild character of Mourvèdre is predominant in the wine: smoke, fresh boysenberry, and thyme. Cinsault brings accents of Bing cherry, strawberry, and baking spices; Grenache contributes suppleness and fine tannins; Counoise adds its tell-tale white and black pepper.