Domaine Vallot
Vinsobres 2020
Domaine Vallot Vinsobres 2020
Domaine Vallot sits in the southern Côtes du Rhône village of Le Coriançon, with vineyards planted on the hills above the winery at an altitude reaching 450m within the appellation of Vinsobres. Vinsobres red wines were granted their own appellation status as an AOC in 2006. The village had previously been under the Côtes du Rhône Villages umbrella since 1967.
High altitude vineyards surround Vinsobres, running for 10km on the south-east facing limestone slopes which mark the beginning of the Alpine foothills. This privileged position at higher altitudes affords a mild microclimate throughout the year with the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux as a backdrop. The soils here are rocky and rich in limestone, but there are also patches of sandy soil. Vinsobres sits at a higher elevation than neighboring Gigondas or Vacqueyras, which is a key concept for the definition of the appellation and what sets them apart: freshness and finesse. With their founding five generations ago, Domaine Vallot is one of the oldest domaines in the Côtes du Rhône.
Winemaker Anaïs Vallot’s flagship Cru Vinsobres is made from her estate-grown, certified organic and biodynamically farmed grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre grapes from hillside plots at 200-450 meters of altitude. Her work in traditional underground cement vessels allows for very slow heating and cooling, providing more control of fermentation and naturally even temperatures, without using excessive amounts of energy that refrigeration requires. They credit the cement vessels as best suited to permitting their terroir to clearly transmit an inherent elegance, freshness, and approachability.
Vinification – Each plot is harvested separately, and the grapes are de-stemmed. 65-year-old mourvèdre and grenache plots are vinified together, with syrah vinified separately. The wine is then traditionally fermented with native yeasts in underground concrete tanks, with a skin maceration of 15 days. The wine is then blended and aged for one year in concrete tanks. Aging takes place in traditional underground concrete vats for over a year. This type of aging is environmentally friendly, using almost no electricity, and ideal for allowing the wine to develop gracefully. Zero-sulfur vinification is employed and no sulfur is added at bottling.