IGP Méditerranée: Domaine Richeaume 'Tradition' Rouge 2020
The rich, red 'Cuvée Tradition' from Domaine Richeaume is a long-standing Yapp favourite, blended (in this vintage) from 60% Grenache, 23% Carignan and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon. This organic IGP Méditerranée would be the perfect provençal pairing with roast leg of lamb studded with garlic and anchovies.
This red 'Cuvée Tradition' is the signature wine of Sylvain Hoesch, son of Domaine Richeaume patron Henning, who started the vineyard in the shadow of Mont Saint-Victoire in 1972. It has briary, garrigue-berry aromas and a core of juicy, dark cassis fruit licked with notes of herbs and spices supported by a couch of silky tannins. It drinks beautifully on its youthful fruit but will readily support 5 to 10 years bottle age.
A gifted and free-spirited winemaker, Sylvain, doesn't like being shackled by Gallic bureacracy and prefers to bottle his wine as humble 'IGP' rather than kowtow to the 'Institute Nationale des Appellations d'Origine'.
Style | Red Wine, Sec, Full-bodied, Non Sparkling |
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Wine Region | Provence, Côtes de Provence |
Grape Variety (Cépage) | Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Grenache |
Food & Wine Matching | Casserole, Charcuterie, Lamb, Mushrooms, Olives |
Viticulture | Organic |
Vintage | 2020 |
Cellarage | Will age happily for five years but drinks well from bottling. |
Vinification | Organically produced, hand harvest grapes from 40+ year old vines are fully de-stemmed prior to a three-week cuvaison. This is a key factor in producer Sylvain Hoesch's efforts to 'work the body of the wine - its dry extract' at this stage ensuring that complex aromatics will develop later, in barrel. Regular racking and small volume elévage yield wines that seldom require filtration and need only the lightest of finings. |
Alcohol By Volume (%) | 14 |
Domaine Richeaume (Henning & Sylvain Hoesch)
Domaine Richeaume is widely recognised as one of the finest estates in Provence and is the creation of a German expatriate, Henning Hoesch and his Swiss French wife. Since 1972 Henning, a cello-playing, art-loving, intellectual has slowly developed his vine holdings with the estate being farmed organically from the start in order to capture the 'force de la terre'. The Domaine is located on the slopes of the Massif de Cenge, which has the impressive backdrop of Mont Saint Victoire, a scene so often painted by the artist Cezanne, and consists of 200 acres of land, with 60 planted to vines. Today, Henning's son Sylvain oversees the vinification deploying local, Rhône and Bordelais grape varieties with spectacular results. Having learnt his trade at Ridge Vineyards in California and Penfolds in Australia, Sylvain combines a hint of modern New World know-how with traditional Provençal style and techniques. The wines of Domaine Richeaume exhibit a wonderful concentration of rich fruit and an inimitable, untamed and herb-infused taste of the garrigues.
View more wines from this producer...
Côtes de Provence: Domaine Richeaume 'Cuvée Tradition' - Yapp Brothers One Minute Review
Meirion Williams reviews the Côtes de Provence 'Cuvée Tradition' from Domaine Richeaume. Ideal with roast lamb.
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