Domaine de Bonserine, Condrieu, Rhône, France, 2022

Producer Profile

This prestigious estate has only 10 hectares of vineyards, which consist mainly of old Syrah called "Serine".

This is a very old clone of Syrah that produces small clusters of loose berries resulting in a particularly aromatic wine. No pesticides, herbicides or chemicals are used in their sustainable agriculture and, with a recent revamp of their cellar, the modern winery enables them to craft even more refined, elegant wines.

Viticulture

The vines are spur pruned or planted guyot simple. Composted manure is used and plowed into the land in the spring to strengthen the roots encouraging them to bury deep into the rock. Each vine is worked to obtain grapes of the highest quality in accordance with the principles of "reasoned agriculture" and is specific to the plant, climate and potential diseases De-budding and cluster thinning takes place routinely and the rows are grassed over to control the yield, limiting each plant to 4-6 clusters. The appellation allows a maximum of 44 Hl, at Bonserine the yield is on average 30 Hl / Ha. At harvest, sorting starts in the vineyard and continues on the sorting tables. The harvest is manual and arrives in the cellar in small boxes of 25 kilos in order to preserve the condition of each cluster.

Winemaking

Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel. Periodic racking will takes place during the barrel ageing, some of this in 228L barriques and partly in 500 litres barrels. During this magical period the wine develops its aromas and establishes its stability. Rigorous tasting is carried out before final blending.

Oak Ageing

Time: 9 Months
Type: French 650l
% wine oaked: 80
% new oak: 100

Tasting Note

A beautiful example of this small but very distinctive appellation. The nose is laden with pear, peach and grape with hints of parsley and herbs. The palate is creamy and rich, full of stone fruits and notes of licorice. The acidity is zippy & the finish incredibly long & memorable.

Food Matching

A simple chicken or fish dish with seasonal vegetables would be a great partner to this wine.