2021 Clos Cibonne Tradition Rouge
WINEMAKER: Olivier Deforges
REGION: Côtes de Provence, FR
VARIETY: Tibouren, Grenache
VITICULTURE: Organic
Coming from bush vines with an average age of 20 years. Fermented on skins in stainless steel tanks, 10 days on skins with pump overs twice a day. Once dry the wine spends 6 months in cask before being bottled. 90% Tibouren and 10% Grenache.
Always a wine of vibrancy and purity, this is no exception. Red and black fruits lead the nose in a fragrant manner. This is backed by layers of spice, smoke, thyme, lavender, meat and red earth. The palate is silky, lacy and long. Typical freshness is ever present. Beaujolais of the south is the way I look at it!
The most southerly Cru Classé grower in the Côtes de Provence AOP, just 800m from the coast and surrounded by hillsides in the base of a bowl that faces the sea. This unique topography promotes air circulation, extending the growing period whilst cooling the vines. The soil is a mixture of schist & clay. After harvest, the wines are fermented in stainless steel & some are then aged under fleurette (a thin veil of yeast) in 100-year-old, 500L foudres. This wine is made from the most historic part of the Clos Cibonne property. 90% Tibouren and 10% Grenache - this is how rosé was made in the region 100 years ago, before modernisation occurred. After fermentation the wine is aged on the lees under fleurette for 1 year in 100-year-old foudres (5000 litres). Provence rosé done right.