Le Grand Pompée Saint-Joseph Blanc 2023
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France / Rhône
Le Grande Pompée is a 9th century character from Victor Hugo’s The Legend of the Ages who fought alongside Charlemagne and loved a wine from the slopes of the right bank of the Rhône. Saint-Joseph is an appellation on the right bank with steep hillsides that were carved into terraces in ancient times. The 10- to 30-year-old Marsanne and Roussanne vines for this wine are planted in granite and schist soils on a South and South-East facing slope. The grapes are hand-harvested and then undergo direct pressing as whole bunches. The juice is fermented at low temperatures in a combination of French oak barrels (80%) and concrete egg and stainless steel tanks (20%). The wine is then aged for 8 months on fine lees in these containers.
Harvest Note
The 2023 vintage began with a rainy autumn with a dry winter. Flowering took place in June in good conditions. Rainy weather in June meant the vines grew well without any water stress. The summer months were marked by several hailstorms but the vines were resilient with enough leaves to ripen the grapes that remained intact.
Tasting Note
Pale blond with green reflections, this white wine has aromas of pear, pineapple, and white peach with light buttery notes, a delicate acidity, and salinity on the finish
Technical Data
GRAPES: Marsanne (80%), Roussanne (20%)
APPELLATION: Saint-Joseph AOC
PH: 3.6
ACIDITY: 4.56
ABV: 12.5%
AGING: 8 months on fine lees in French oak barrels (80%) and concrete egg and stainless steel tanks (20%)
MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: No
Unique Selling Points
- Saint-Joseph has steep hillsides that were carved into terraces in ancient times
- Hand-harvested and whole bunch pressed
"What makes a great wine, what makes it inimitable and constant, is the terroir in which it is born."
Caroline Frey, Winemaker
