2011 Domaine of the Bee
- Retail
- £30.00
- Member
- £24.00
- Varieties
- Carignan
- Grenache
- Vintage
- 2011
- Country
- France
- Region
- Roussillon
- Alcohol
- 15%
- Bottle size
- 750 mL
- Drinking Window
- 2013 - 2020
Awards
- Title
- Year
- 2014
- Event
- Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2014 - Silver medal
- Description
The biggest, darkest, richest Bee that we have made - absolutely bursting with blackberry black pepper, and yet somehow it is also REALLY smooth. Jancis Robinson MW was "seriously impressed". David Williams in the Observer called it "brooding, voluminous, evocative and silky".
- Body
full
- Winemaking Notes
The third and last year that we made our wine in the D66 winery in Maury. The hallmark of this vintage was the long pre-fermentation maceration, made possible by chilling the grapes overnight before crushing them, which really brought out the intense colour, and rich fruit of this excellent vintage.
With a much higher yield from the Coume de Roy vineyard, we needed more upended demi-muids (500 L barrels) with the ends taken out, and as in previous vintages, the Carignan from La Roque and Grenache from the Bac de Genievres were fermented in shallow stainless steel tanks
Pressing with a small basket press.
Maturation in a mixture of new, 1 year old and 2 year old barriques and Demi-muids for 14 months.- Growing Conditions
One of those rare years that delivered both exceptional quality and above-average quantity. The wines have been fruit-forward from the moment the grapes were picked at full ripeness, just before the rain which washed out the last week of vintage for some growers.
- Food Pairing
Great with grilled red meat, hearty stews, barbequed food, and hard cheeses.
Reviews
Jancis Robinson MW
www.jancisrobinson.com - Professional
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/tastings/view/553637
May 14, 2014 23:00"Round and full of pzazz. Lots of fun with great richness. Velvety with great energy. It tastes cool considering its alcohol level."
16.5
Jancis Robinson MW
www.jancisrobinson.com - Professional
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201310171.html
October 17, 2013 23:00"The nose of this regular bottling is intense but not overripe or alcoholic and the palate is obviously that of a substantial wine but the texture is delightful and the aromas – burnt black fruits, dried herbs, something mineral – unfurl with real grace. While under the influence of this wine, I wrote that these aromas unfurled ‘slowly like a cat stretching’. There is considerable tannin well covered with fruit and I’d suggest ideally drinking this well-packaged wine over the next five years."
16.5
Nathan Nolan
Mr Drink 'n' Eat - Professional
http://www.mrdrinkneat.com/2013/07/domaine-of-the-bee-open-house/
July 29, 2013 23:00"Domaine of the Bee 2011… is showing bright, jazzy vibrant dark berry fruit with liquorice and some grey stony notes. This wine is happy in your face juicy fun right now but imagine it will evolve a great deal over the coming years"
David Williams
The Observer - Professional
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/15/wine-buying-online-best-sites
March 16, 2014 11:00"The internet has made it much easier for a number of enterprising wine producers to sell their wines direct, including ex-Laithwaites wine director Justin Howard-Sneyd, whose brooding, voluminous, evocative and silky southern French red from old grenache and carignan vines shows he understands winemaking as well as wine-selling."
Comments
smooth, spicy, hot, spicy, cherries
Possibly the best yet?
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