A superb Châteuneuf-du-Pape from vines in their prime.

Tasting Notes

Intense and inky dark, with a concentrated, rich and complex nose of kirsch, bay and graphite. Very full bodied and weighty with some evident tannins, and there's a brooding power from such low yields. Despite its heft, the old vines provide great complexity and interest and we are left with a lovely juicy finish.

Production Method

Alex Favier inherited 37 different blocks of vineyards from his mother, Marie-Paule Sabon, comprising 50 hectares in total, making Domaine Chante Cigale one of the larger domaines of this most famous of French appellations. The terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is made up of three different soil types and those domaines with vines on all three consequentially gain in complexity For his reds, Alex has a typically large palette of varieties but his ‘old vine’ cuvée uses only Grenache Noir, Syrah and Mourvèdre as these are his oldest vines and they provide the wine with great intensity and longevity. The vines for this bottling are over 65 years old, some as old as 100, and they are some of the oldest vines to be found on the plateau de Carbières (close to Château Montredon).The yield of these ‘Vieilles Vignes’ is very, very low indeed; the oldest vines may only yield a miniscule 15hl/ha, most others around 22-23 hl/ha, bringing the average to around 20hl/ha. Harvesting is by hand, with selective sorting of the grapes. Alex learned about viticulture and vinification from his father and took over from him whilst finishing his last year at school in 1999; eventually taking full control of the domaine in 2002. Each variety is vinified separately and undergoes an 18-24 day fermentation and a 32-36 day maceration period. Malolactic fermentation and ageing takes place in a combination of new oak barriques and concrete vats. Alex no longer uses the traditional larger casks known as ‘foudres’ for his Vieilles Vignes.

Producer

Domaine Chante Cigale is located within the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and has been owned by the Sabon Favier family for several generations. Consisting of 41 hectares, the domaine benefits from old vines, some of which are veritably ancient at over 100 years old. Alexandre Favier took over from his father, Christian, and is part of a new wave of producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, combining modern technical expertise with time-honoured winemaking practices.

Alexandre is lauded by notable journalists including Steve Danzier and Jancis Robinson for his deftly-made and reasonably-priced wines. Domaine Chante Cigale has also built a reputation for specialising in white wines, of which they produce more than any other estate in the appellation.

A note on Sustainability

As you might expect from someone born and raised on an estate named after singing cicadas, Alexandre Favier keenly promotes the biodiversity of his vineyards. He is very conscious of his role as guardian of his land for future generations and Chante Cigale is currently in conversion to full organic status.

Specifications

A great wine with character, elegant and typical, honouring the historic grape variety and king of the southern Rhône Valley: Grenache Noir.

Tasting Notes 

Only 7 miles along the road from Châteauneuf-du-Pape but not as well known globally so represents much better value!

Tasting Notes 

Proper, traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Tasting Notes

Nose

This is a traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with ripe black fruit aromas balanced by lightly herbal, oaky notes.

Palate

The palate is generous with dark plum and blackberry characters, and plump textured tannins balancing the significant 15% alcohol, which is expertly managed and integrated.

Production Method

The soils of the vineyard are made up of clay and chalk covered with a layer of the classic large peebles ('galets') found in this area, which naturally keep yields low. The vines are over 60 years old and situated near the plateau de Carbières (close to Château Montredon). Harvesting is by hand, with selective sorting of the grapes. The grapes undergo a traditional long 'cuvaison' at quite high temperature and with extended maceration on the skins, 21-24 days to extract plenty of colour, fruit and tannins. This is followed by ageing for between 14-18 months in 'foudres' (large oak barrels), 70% vats, 30% Burgundian pieces and casks.

Producer

Domaine Chante Cigale is located within the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and has been owned by the Sabon Favier family for several generations. Consisting of 41 hectares, the Domaine benefits from old vines, some of which are veritably ancient at over 100 years old. Alexandre Favier took over from his father, Christian, and is part of a new wave of producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, combining modern technical expertise with time-honoured winemaking practices.

Alexandre is lauded by notable journalists including Steve Danzier and Jancis Robinson for his deftly-made and reasonably-priced wines. Domaine Chante Cigale has also built a reputation for specialising in white wines, of which they produce more than any other estate in the appellation.

A note on Sustainability

As you might expect from someone born and raised on an estate named after singing cicadas, Alexandre Favier keenly promotes the biodiversity of his vineyards. He is very conscious of his role as guardian of his land for future generations and Chante Cigale is currently in conversion to full organic status.

Specifications

A rich, savoury satisfying mouthful!

Since the elevation of Cairanne to a southern Rhône cru, 'La Côte Sauvage' continues to be characterised by its finesse and finely-grained texture, due in part to the famous ‘argilo-calcaire’ of our hilltop vineyards such as La Pauline and Les Six Terrasses, slow winemaking methods and gentle maturation in different sized barrels of old French oak.

Tasting Notes

A serious, restrained and complex example of cru Cairanne. This is rich, intense and drenched in dark red fruits. With morello cherry and a touch of cinnamon spice on the nose, soft dark plummy fruit, liquorice, chocolate, a hint of black tea on the palate, this wine is full-flavoured and smooth with supple tannins. 

Method of Production

The cru of Cairanne lies in the heart of the Southern Rhône valley, northeast of Orange. For this La Côte Sauvage, fully ripe Grenache and Syrah grapes are hand-picked from old bush vines on selected hillside slopes within Cairanne. The vineyards have the classic argilo-calcaire soil of limestone pebbles over clay and the vines are harvested by hand. Vinified traditionally with only the natural yeasts present on the grapes, followed by a long cuvaison period with gentle remontage and manual pigeage. A blend of four varieties (Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mourvèdre) matured for 22 months in French old oak barrels and demi-muids to develop great concentration, complexity and finesse in the wine.

Specifications

All you want from a proper Côtes du Rhône.

Tasting Notes

With attractive, bramble fruit and floral aromas, the palate is up-front and fresh with warm spice and real depth. This is a classic southern Rhône red; ripe and characterful with smooth supple tannins. Soft and Southern.

Production Method

We source La Chapelle de Marin from three parcels - La Combe d’Antide, Les Sablières and La Beraude – owned by Patrice, a Cairanne neighbour of Domaine Boutinot Rhône. His 40ha of vines, like ours in Cairanne, see plenty of sunshine throughout the year and benefit from both the Mistral wind – which keeps things cooler and disease-free – and higher than average rainfall. Soils are poor with a high limestone content and sandy soils on lower slopes, hence the name of the lower parcel ‘Les Sablières’.The three parcels comprise of 4ha of Grenache Noir, 2ha of Syrah and 1ha of Carignan, 7ha in all. Here vieilles vignes (old vines) are between 60 and 70 years old and, in their old age, are achieving low but concentrated yields of 45hl/ha. Handpicked bunches are carefully destemmed and vinified using traditional ‘minimal intervention’ techniques. This wine is made without the use of oak to retain the pure fresh fruit character.

Producer

Like all good stories, Boutinot France's is both long and a little bit complicated! Boutinot began as a tiny importer in 1980, specialising in French wines. After 10 years, the business had grown and Samantha Bailey packed her bags to set up an office in Burgundy. Today, Boutinot has over 20 employees who take care of production across the whole of France, covering fresh whites and rosés from Gascony, mineral wines from Burgundy, and joyful varietal wines from Languedoc among others. We don't use any single 'model' to source our wines; instead, a combination of sources are used, from large-scale, high-quality co-ops to small, family growers and single domaines as well as our own vineyards in Cairanne and Saint-Véran. Drawing on the expertise of our 4 winemakers and network of partner growers, we seek to deliver the highest quality to price ratio possible at every price point.

Specifications