2023 Gramenon L'Émouvante

WINEMAKER: Michèle Aubéry & Maxime-François Laurent
REGION: Rhône, FR
VARIETY: Syrah
VITICULTURE: Biodynamic

"A couple of years ago Michele mentioned to me that she had a plan for Syrah to sit with her celebrated 'Ceps Centennaires' Grenache - she's used the oldest vines she has on the estate, up on a limestone plateau at 350m altitude. Farmed bio dynamically, as all grapes at Gramenon are, the had harvest grapes are fermented using ambient yeasts but for this wines there is a 60 day maceration. She put in 2 bottles of the 2016 with my order last year and they knocked me out, I immediately got in touch to see if I could buy some but she told me it was allocated, "but don't worry, I made it again in 2017" well here we are again in 2023, this again is a Syrah that can mix it with the Titans and I suspect could live and improve for 20 years in a good cellar. Super super" - Andrew Guard

The iconic Domaine Gramenon originates back in 1978 when Philippe Laurent and Michele Aubery-Laurent purchased 12 hectares of vines and an old barn. The first wine produced was in 1979 and was the first vintage of their now iconic and cult 'Ceps Centainaires' This original part of the domaine is located at 300 meters above sea level on a rare limestone bench. Over the years the domaine has expanded to 25 hectares by planting more vines, purchasing 4.5 hectares of plots in Vinsobres in 1999, and land in nearby Valreas in 2007 (now sold) and Taulignan in 2019. Today the estate is run by Michele Aubery and one of her children, son Maxime-Francois Laurent. The estate is officially certified Biodynamic by Demeter (since 2009) but has been farmed in a bio-organic manner since the mid 1980's. As their vineyards are isolated from others they do not have to worry about any cross-pollution from their neighbours spraying.