Maison Tardieu Laurent - Rasteau - Vieilles Vignes

Attractive elegance of this Wine, despite of a power which still remains a trifle ostentatious. The Cuvée will benefit from the élevage… Longer than usual élevage - the Wine deserves it - so as to gain even more finesse.

Presentation

The vintage
A Vintage shaped for Grenache, in the first place. Intense, engaging, deep colors… Bright fruit, striking structures, with a singular quality of the tannin... And the more unreal, as this is the most unlikely feature in this table, the pH… pH which is astonishingly low...
All in all, 2016 solves the problem of squaring the circle in the world of wine ! Wines which are “easy”, absolutely delicious to drink young, fresh, yet with a structure, a fleshiness, a balance, which promise them an unprecedented destiny…
Type of soil
Limestone-clay slopes and blue clay.
Ageing
12 months in one vintage old barrels. Allier and Tronçais. Then 6 months in foudre.
Vinification
1/3 non destemmed.
Varietals
Grenache : 65%
Syrah : 25%
Mourvèdre : 10%
Specifications
Alcohol content : 14,5% % vol.
Bottling : Without fining and filtration.
Age of vines : Grenache: 80 years, Syrah and Mourvèdre: 40 years years old

Advice

Serving
14°C
Decant an hour before tasting.
Tasting
Attractive elegance of this Wine, despite of a power which still remains a trifle ostentatious. The Cuvée will benefit from the élevage… Longer than usual élevage - the Wine deserves it - so as to gain even more finesse.

Reviews

92-94/100
"The 2016 Rasteau Vieilles Vignes was one of my favorites in the lineup and this beauty has everything you could want from this appellation. Chocolate, black fruits, espresso and graphite aromas give way to a ripe, building, concentrated 2016 that has fabulous purity. It has plenty of tannins as well, but they’re mostly covered by loads of fruit at the moment. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy through 2026.
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17/20
"Bright crimson. Hedonistic, heady, super-ripe nose with great lift and juicy refreshment on the finish. Masses of black fruit flavours overlay some very fine tannins. There’s something (agreeably) medicinal about this. And you could almost drink it straightaway. Although it clearly has a long life ahead of it."
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93/100
"Brambly, dark and fresh fruit here with some spiced chocolate also in the mix. The palate delivers a wealth of plush, sweet-fruit flavor. Rich and fluid. Lots to like here. Drink or hold"
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91/100
"Plum and blackberry preserve flavors glide through, inlaid with cocoa and melted black licorice notes. A light graphite edge keeps this honest."
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88-90/100
"The full-bodied 2016 Rasteau Vieilles Vignes is plush and ripe, its red and blue fruits dressed up with notes of baking spices. It's a blend of 65% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre, but it comes across as slightly generic."
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