For more than three months, an interminable period of heat and relative dryness settled over Provence. This exceptionally long episode came on top of a very low total rainfall since the beginning of the winter. Heat and drought are indeed the two main characteristics of the past year. The seasonal cycle began with a relatively harsh winter, punctuated by a few isolated storms. It was followed by a spring marked by frosts and violent hail falls which, fortunately, spared the vineyard.  Château Peyrassol, officially labelled as an organic vineyard from the 2022 vintage. Our vines have resisted particularly well to this dry climate, with its sometimes overwhelming heat. With the exception of the very young vines and certain superficial terroirs, we did not observe any symptoms of water stress during the entire vegetative growth period. In bright sunshine, in very dry conditions, when even some trees were dropping and losing their leaves, our vineyard plots were bright green. Several protective factors for our vineyard came into play in this tense climatic context:

• a deep rooting of our vines,
• the proximity of the estate's woods and garrigues,
• which drain the soil and favour the production of humidity,
• a decisive action of the teams in the vineyard with a parsimonious planting of cereals and leguminous plants between the rows, the subsequent covering of these plants which preserved a little humidity at the foot of the plant and, finally, a controlled leaf removal which protected the bunches of grapes from the scorching sun of the summer. 

From August onwards, the ripening of the berries had its share of surprises in store for us. Sugar levels rose very quickly in the early grape varieties, with a reduction in acidity. On the contrary, the later grape varieties struggled to start their sugar load with quite unusual ripening. These surprising behaviours led us to be more vigilant, to meticulously monitor the vineyard, down to the very last vine, in order to organise a harvest that was finally very concentrated between 25 August and 28 September, so as to capture the berries at their best.Fermentations ended with superbly aromatic white and rosé musts. The reds release beautiful colours and powerful aromas. The first tastings suggest that this will be a vintage of character.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Purple in colour with hints of violet, this cuvée exhales notes of ripe Syrah: liquorice, pepper and peony. A beautiful procession of red and black then unfolds.

Palate: The palate is beautifully mature with velvety tanninsand mellow acidity. Intense flavours of red fruit, blackberry, then spices caracolate across the palate right through to the round, fleshy finish.

Origin: France, Côtes de Provence

Soil Type: Clay and limestone from the inland valleys, combined with some plots of cool, deep terroirs. The freshness is maintained by the choice of plots with northern exposure.

Grapes: 80 % Syrah - 5 % Cabernet Sauvignon - 15 % Grenache.

Growing: Organic agriculture under organic conversion. Sowing of cereals in the inter-row to favour soil life, careful plot selection, manual harvesting of the oldest vines.

Vinification: The harvest is sorted in the vineyard and a second time on the table. It is destemmed but not crushed: the grapes are placed in concrete vats by gravity. Vatting for 3 weeks, with alternating pump-overs.

Fermentation: At the end of fermentation, a light racking in the clear allows only the best of the lees to be kept, which are then carefully worked to favour both the aromatic expression and its long-lasting potential.

Ageing Potential: To be enjoyed as of now.

Food Pairing: A homemade terrine with a board of fine charcuterie, carpaccio of beef with sucrines and capers, a sauté of veal with apricots.

Winery: Peyrassol