La Douzième 2013
SYRAH 95% VIOGNIER 5%
Our homage to the great wines of Côte Rotie, La Douzième is a blend of syrah with 5% viognier. The grapes are hand-picked, destemmed and vinified together in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to pursue a complete vinification with natural yeasts only. Once complete, after about 23 days, the wine is matured in 400 litre barrels of French oak for 9 months.
The objective is to be as gentle as possible throughout, to achieve a balance between extraction of fruit and tannins that creates a wine that can last 10 years but immediately has a generous and subtle mouthfeel.
IGP Gard 14% Alcohol
About the name...
When I first started making this wine, the percentage of viognier was at around 12% and with 'twelfth' being 'douzième' in French, the wine pretty much found its own name. (Somewhat more obliquely, from Côte Rotie we get 'la côte' one of whose meanings is 'rib' and being a feminine word, led me to Eve, who it is said was created from Adam's twelfth rib... )
Tasting Notes
Gilbert & Gaillard on La Douzième 2013:
"Deep, young colour. Refined nose driven by plum, cherry and peach with a spicy touch of garrigue. Chewy, powerful palate with aromatic depth placing rich, suave Mediterranean flavours to the fore."
Awards for La Douzième
Wine Information Sheet
Download the PDF Information Sheet for this wine here
