Maison Tardieu-Laurent Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc Nobles Origines (ex Guy Louis)

Presentation

The vintage
Vintage 2021 was incontestably a thumb to the nose of the last “solar” vintages which we have seen recently in the Rhone Valley. Real 30 year flashback, typically reminiscent of more classical harvest dates in the Vindémiare calendar and phenolic maturity from the 90s..
Indeed, this vintage has given us, on all levels, a lot of emotions. Blame it on the particularly capricious weather conditions, sweet understatement!
Extreme frost episode from 7th to 9th April, with some temperatures nearing -10C, affected without exception almost all the French vineyards. Cataclysmic observations: the vine for more than 3 weeks was brain dead! Some vinegrowers thought they had l ost their ancestral heritage. Miraculously, nature took back control. But this was not without consequences. The vine stocks were deeply tilted, even unbalanced. The 2nd shoots were anarchic, the labour work extremely complicated.
Fortunately, the beneficial rains throughout the vegetative cycle, the moderate temperature in the summer and a beautiful late autumn enabled us to approach harvest season with serenity.
Like every year, nature decides for us. This is what makes this job beautiful and delicate. But undeniably, 2021 will remain forever the vintage of a great “vigneron” (vinegrower).
Terroir
Southern and northern terroirs blended.
1/3 North et 2/3 South
Ageing
Ageing 8 months in new barrels, barrels from one and two vintages. Allier and Tronçais.
Varietals
Viognier : 35%
Grenache : 20%
Clairette : 15%
Marsanne : 15%
Roussanne : 15%
Specifications
Alcohol content : 14% % vol.
Bottling : Without fining and light filtration.
Age of vines : Grenache : 70 years, Marsanne/Roussanne : 60 years, Clairette : 30 years, Viognier : 40 years years old

Advice

Serving
12°C
Do not decant.

Reviews

90/100
"Nobles Origines est plus racé, avec une aromatique plus posée et une dimension de bouche qu'il faut saluer pour ce niveau d'appellation."
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