Côtes du Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu 2018

2018 was atypical in many ways. This vintage required a constant presence from the vineyards to the cellar. After a mild Winter, the wet and rainy Spring gave way to a beautiful Summer, favouring a very healthy development of the vines. September then ushered in an Indian Summer that proved to be more thanideal for the harvest, with cool nights an warm, sunny days. The harvest lasted for a total of 8 weeks, under ideal climatic conditions. The result is a generous and elegant vintage with a particularly aromatic profile and a superb balance.

The vines lie between the villages of Travaillan and Camaret sur Aigues, on the vast alluvial terrace created by the Ouvèze, a once powerful sub-Alpine river.
This terrace is an accumulation of large round stones and limestone gravels, with a sprinkling of flint. Sand and clay form the matrix of these larger elements. This layer can reach up to 25 or 30 meters deep along the ancient riverbed. Subsequently, important climatic upheavals altered the surface of this terrace, breaking down the limestone, developing ferous oxides and the apparition of more recent claybeds, which provide the Plan de Dieu with its characteristic red-brown hue.

Harvested the 21th September 2018. Fermentation on indigenous yeasts. Light pumping over to favour smooth tannin extraction. 24-day maceration followed by pressing with reincorporation of the press wine to the free-run wine for this vintage. Aged in vats for 9 months.

Bottled on July 24th 2019.

6 388 bottles produced.

ABV: 14.5%

Vegan Friendly.

Serve at 13-15°C, ideally decante 2 to 3 hours before tasting.

Optimum maturity: 2020 – 2026