Welcome to the ninth release of the Vineyard Cellar Select Club!
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August Selections
2024 J.L. Chave Sélection Syubèle Crozes-Hermitage & 2024 Wills Wine avant midi
The Rhône Valley is one of France’s most beautiful and historic wine regions. The region was introduced to viticulture by the Romans and it was here that the modern appellation system was born in the inter-war period to combat nefarious labeling practices on wine from the Algerian colony. There is a rich history of agriculture here, confined to the steel banks of the Rhône River north of Tain l’Hermitage but spreading out across the wide alluvial plain deposited over thousands of years by the Rhône as is makes it way ever closer to the Mediterranean. This month’s duo comes from both the Northern and Southern Rhône appellations and represent the regional styles quite well. This is to say that both are blends of grapes that can claim this area as their French homeland: Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Noir, Syrah and Mourvèdre.
Jean-Louis Chave represents the current generation of a family estate that was begun in 1481 and has risen to the pinnacle of the wine industry over the last half-century, their rise marked by the sublime blending skill of both Jean-Louis and his father, Gérard. The Sélection line represents the younger vines or vineyards that are recent acquisitions that Jean-Louis doesn’t feel he knows well enough to put into his top wines. They’re not to be overlooked, however, as they are made in the same cellars and with the same knowledge and skill as the top bottlings but at far, far more approachable prices. Sybèle is the white blend (equal parts Marsanne and Roussanne) from holdings in Crozes-Hermitage, the larger appellation that covers the northern side of the Hermitage hill and surrounding plains. The vines are found in the village of Larnage, planted on decomposed granite and limestone which give more freshness and mineral drive to what can otherwise be a rich, round and heavy varietal blend. Aged in neutral barrels for around 18 months, the result is a beautifully fresh and flavorful white marked by flavors of melon, white stone fruits, crisp minerality and citrus bursts on a medium-bodied frame.
Wills Wine is the the culmination of a decade learning the ropes in the wine industry for Will Arnold. A brit who grew up in a wine-focused family (his father founded A&B Vintners, a large wine importer in the UK), Will learned the ropes from his father and eventually made it across the channel to France where her worked harvests and found inspiration from the likes of Pierre-Yves Colin Morey and Jean-Louis Chave. Today, he crafts small lots of wine from numerous appellations working with a variety of grapes from the southern Beaujolais to Provence, only purchasing fruit from farmers who share his philosophy on sustainable farming and honest viticulture. avant midi is a classic blend of Grenache Noir (50%), Syrah (30%), and Mourvèdre (20%) grown on a mix of galets roulets (the famed river stones of the southern Rhône alluvial plain – most famously found across Châteauneuf-du-Pape) as well as limestone, the fruit sees Will’s usual treatment of between 50% and 100% whole cluster fermentation (vintage dependent). Bottles unfiltered to retain as much natural character as possible, the result is a pure and charming red blend that offers juicy notes of red and black fruits with a background of smoked meats, violets and dark minerality supported by warming spices and velvety tannins that carry the finish.
