DOMAINE RICHAUD
PAST WINES
2022 A LA SOURCE
This entry level cuvée comes from their youngest vines, currently between three and seven years old. They’re primarily in Les Plantiers but the wine is traditionally beefed up with fruit from Les Granges and Garrigues. Yields are permitted to reach 40 hl/ha to promote a fresher profile. Grenache (60%), Syrah (15%), Counoise (15%), and Mourvèdre (10%) are destemmed into concrete for a short 8 to 10 day maceration before being pressed off back into tank for an eight month élevage. It is bottled with 15ppm of SO2. 14% ABV
2022 TERRE D’AIGLES
This cuvée comes from several plots beneath the winery near the river, mostly from the lieu dit of La Béraude; The proximity to water is very helpful for dry farming in an arid region. It is almost entirely flat so they use a larger, draping canopy to protect against sun and heat damage. The 70 year old bush vines were the first farmed by Marcel fifty years ago and are conveniently across the street from their original cellar. The soils here are finer silt and sand but include some clay resulting in an earlier drinking cuvée. It is comprised of Grenache (65%), Syrah (15%), Carignan (10%), and Counoise (10%). The grapes are fermented on skins (the latter two varieties as whole clusters) for 8 to 12 days before being pressed back into concrete for élevage. 15ppm of SO2 is added at bottling. 14.5% ABV
2022 TERRE DE GALETS
This wine is made from Grenache (50%), Carignan (25%), Mourvèdre (15%), and Syrah (10%). The grapes come from four plots: Garrigues, Carré, Canarde, and Truffière. Soils in are red clay punctuated by large stones, some as big as bowling balls. The thirty-year-old vines cook in this scorching and arid site, unprotected from the elements. The grapes are mostly destemmed, although the Carignan is typically fermented whole-cluster. After a short maceration and limited remontage, the wine is pressed off for an eight-month élevage in concrete. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 15% ABV
2021 CAIRANNE ROUGE
Their flagship wine comes from their best plots in Cairanne: Chantal, les Garrigues, les Combes, les Partides, la Ridel, and les Bayes. The vines are 40-70 years old and are primarily perched on terraces above the village. These stony vineyards only yielded 25hl/ha in 2021. It is a blend of Grenache (45%), Mourvèdre (25%), Syrah (15%), and Carignan (15%). All but the Carignan is destemmed for fermentation in concrete for roughly two weeks. The wine is then pressed into a combination of foudre (20%), demi- muids (30%), and concrete (50%). The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 14% ABV
2021 CAIRANNE BLANC
This wine is made from a blend of Clairette (35%), Bourboulenc (31%), Roussanne (12%), Vermentino (10%), Viognier (6%), Grenache Blanc (3%), and Marsanne (3%). Their white grapes are primarily planted on the sandier soils in the hills around the village. Vine age is between twenty and forty years old. The grapes are crushed and macerated on skins for 12 hours before an incredibly long and gentle pressing. The juice is fermented in concrete at cold temperatures for a month before being racked into a combination of barrels and tanks. The varieties are blended shortly before bottling, receiving a judicious 15 ppm of SO2. 13.5% ABV
2021 TERRE DE GALETS
This wine is made from Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (35%), Carignan (15%), and Syrah (10%). The grapes come from four plots: Garrigues, Carré, Canarde, and Truffière. Soils, especially in Garrigues, are red clay punctuated by small stones. The thirty+-year-old vines cook in this scorching and arid site, unprotected from the elements. The grapes are mostly destemmed, although the Carignan is typically fermented whole-cluster. After a short maceration and limited remontage, the wine is pressed off for an eight-month élevage in concrete. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 15 ppm of SO2. 14% ABV