2018 The Bee-Side

Retail: £18.00
Member: £14.40
Case: £108.00
Case (Member): £86.40

Varieties: Grenache
Vintage: 2018
Country: France
Region: Roussillon
Alcohol: 14.3%
Bottle size: 750 mL
Drinking Window: 2020 - 2025

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Description: The Bee-Side is our second label wine, made from 100% Grenache. – most of the grapes come from our Bac de Genievres and Coume de Roy vineyards, and The Bee-side also includes some fruit from some of Jean-Marc Lafage’s vines. The result is a wine with a harmonious blend of delicate yet expressive red fruits with hints of fennel and rosemary.
Eyes: A cheerful cherry red.
Nose: Bright cherry and raspberry 'fruit compote' notes with a touch of local herbs. A hint of vanilla oak is evident from one new oak barrel out of 4 barrels used.
Mouth: This year's Bee-side is savoury and rich, with a gentle fruit compote nose, a warming, easy-going palate, and gentle clove spice, livened with a twist of pithy tannin and a juicy acidity. A highly drinkable red, especially if served lightly chilled.
Body: medium
Winemaking Notes: Our grapes were hand harvested, and then hand-sorted at the winery but the crop was healthy, and very little selection was needed. Our Grenache was emptied into upturned demi-muids (500L barrels) with the ends taken out. Some of the barrels picked after the rain were 'bled' to remove a small amount of juice, which was amalgamated to create one barrel of a very pale red. Around 50% of the barrels were fermented with 'whole bunches', and the rest were destemmed. The barrels were gently macerated in the cool of a refrigerated container, before being warmed up, inoculated with yeast, and gently punched down 2-3 times a day. After pressing the wine was drained into 500 L barrels, one new, and the others 1-4 years old, and aged for 18 months. We blended three of these barrels with the barrel of 'pale red' and a little bit of Jean-Marc's fine old vine Grenache to produce this year's Bee-side.
Growing Conditions: After a cool start to the year, a heat spike in May ensured a good flowering, and then a long dry period in July, August and September meant that we harvested a good yield of lovely ripe grapes in early October, and our last block from the Coume de Roy picked a few days after the first rain, but just before the heavens opened on the 14th October.
Food Pairing: Just delicious with saussices catalan or robust pasta dishes. Or anything really.