2021 Worker Bees' Cuvée
- Retail
- £35.00
- Member
- £28.00
- Case
- £210.00
- Case (Member)
- £168.00
- Varieties
- Grenache Noir
- Vintage
- 2021
- Country
- France
- Region
- Roussillon
- Alcohol
- 15%
- Bottle size
- 750 mL
- Description
A single barrel made with the help of our 'Worker Bees' - 15 Wine Club Members who came out for the weekend to harvest and tread the grapes (and then have a jolly good dinner).
This is 100% Grenache from our 65-year-old Bac de Genievres plot. Only 280 bottles made.- Eyes
A very bright, vibrant cherry red
- Nose
A big wine, with a super-ripe Grenache nose showcasing the ripe strawberry fruit typical of Grenache, with a couple of glugs of kirsch.
- Mouth
A classic Maury Grenache, full of ripe, rich, almost jammy raspberry/strawberry fruit - yet this has plenty of subtlety, complexity and freshness, and the hallmarks of whole-bunch barrel-fermented Grenache - with notes of preserved orange peel and a subtle chocolate richness.
- Body
full
- Winemaking Notes
The grapes were harvested on the 3rd October by our weekend harvesting crew, and ferried to the winery at Chateau St Roch in our car. Each picker in turn tipped a couple of boxes of whole bunches into an open barrel and then trod them with their (scrupulously cleaned) bare feet. The barrel was chilled for a few days to allow extraction of as much fruit and colour as possible, and then warmed up gently to ferment for 10 days with twice daily punchdowns. Ater pressing, the wine was aged in a single 3-year-old 225L barrel for 15 months. This year's Worker Bees included Abel, Amanda, Annie, Chris, Fred, Ian, Irene, Julie, Justin, Laura, Mark, Phyllida, Scilla, Tod and Vidya
- Growing Conditions
An EXTREMELY cold January, with rare snow lying on the ground (briefly) marked the start of a year that was incredibly dry. Very low rainfall in a cool spring, and then a nice mini heatwave in June, but still very little rain. Two more heat spikes in mid July and late August, followed by September rains which finally allowed the vines a little moisture, and helped to swell the thick-skinned grapes. Most of the vineyards for our white and rosé were harvested before the rain, and most of our reds in a dry spell after the rainy spells. A good year for white and pinks, and a GREAT year for reds.
- Food Pairing
The perfect wine for a succulent haunch of Wild Boar, rotating on a spit, and served with creamy dauphinoise potatoes and a fennel salad. But pretty damned tasty with anything, really.
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