2023 Domaine de la Janasse Cotes du Rhone

The young Christophe Sabon wields the scepter here with great enthusiasm. He took over the domain from his father in the early 1990s and, as so often, the development here has been extremely positive since then. Christophe works a total of more than 15 hectares of vineyard, all on a very difficult subsoil of gravel, sand and large stones. The vines are more than 40 years old, in some plots there are vines of more than 80 years old.

The variety of different grapes is very large, including Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne, Carignan, Bourboulenc, Counoise. Low yields, often less than 30 hl/ha, are achieved by merciless pruning and a rigorous vendange verte. Christophe also works almost exclusively organically. The grapes are picked entirely by hand, before fermentation the grapes are lightly crushed, then a long maceration of approx. 18 days follows. After the temperature-controlled fermentation the wines are left to lie in large oak casks. All wines are made classically and are distinguished by the combination of power and finesse.

The Côtes du Rhône from Janasse is a blend of 40% Grenache supplemented with Mourvèdre, Carignan, Syrah and Cinsault is again a beautiful vintage. The wine is medium-bodied, juicy and peppery with herbs but also fresh. A very characterful wine and exactly as a good Cote du Rhone should be but we can leave that to Domaine Janasse.