Les Cassagnes Côtes-du-Rhône Villages 2022

Les Cassagnes de La Nerthe is produced in the Southern Rhône Valley in France by Domaine de la Renjarde, a property owned by the Richard family who also manage the famed Château La Nerthe in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The same team creates this elegant and fruit driven wine. The wine is a blend of organic Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes grown in sandy and limestone soil containing shards of calcareous rocks, providing high quality natural filtration. The average age of the vines is over 40 years old. The vineyards are located at altitudes up to 600 feet above sea level and the gently undulating slopes produce high quality grapes. Les Cassagnes means oak trees, which surround the vineyards. The grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted after arriving at the winery. The grapes are lightly crushed, and color and tannins are gently extracted with several daily pumping overs of the tanks. Co-fermentation of the three varieties occurs over a long maceration of 3 to 4 weeks. The final blend is aged on fine lees in stainless steel tanks for 9 to 12 months before bottling.