Les Six, Cairanne AOC
From Cairanne, the Southern Rhone’s newest Cru, Les Six is all about elegance and the expression of six different grape varieties (in an appellation usually dominated by just two) blended together in the tradition of yesteryear.
Wine Story
Made, quite exceptionally for a Cairanne, from six grape varieties: Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, together with ancient varieties of Carignan Noir, Counoise and Cinsault from our neighbours ‘bijou’ plots.
Only the very best fruit is selected through hand-picking and hand-sorting whole bunches. The wine was then vinified in large oak vats (tronconique) in the tradition of Rhône vintages of days gone by. Only the natural yeasts present on the grapes were used to vinify the wine, aided by manual daily pigeage. ‘Les Six’ was later assembled, matured, again in the large ‘tronconique’ for 10 months, and bottled at Domaine Boutinot's cellars in Cairanne.
Full-flavoured and complex. Layers of peppery red and black fruits are interwoven and underpinned by a plush texture and supple tannins which propel the scents and flavours to a vibrant, expressive finish.
Fiche Technique
Blend
Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault, Counoise
Closure
Natural Cork
Vineyard
The slopes above the village of Cairanne are be-decked with treasure troves of well-established vineyards steeped in the classic terroir of ‘agrilo-calcaire’ (chalky clay) and bristling with parcels of low-yielding old vines, some of very rare and ancient grape varieties.
Winemaking
Hand-picked grapes, some co-fermented for greater complexity, all vinified by natural wild yeasts and aided by manual pigeage and gentle remontage.
Maturation
Matured only in tronconique (large oak vats) for 10 months