One grape that is particularly naughty is the rare Carignan Gris! It took ages to ripen - this was the last vineyard to be picked this year 5 weeks after the other whites and the potential alcohol is still only around 12%. I can understand why this grape didn't make it down here in the Languedoc Roussillon. Larger structures just wouldn't have been able to cope with small amounts of very late ripening white grapes so it probably just got hidden amongst the reds or picked with the other whites far too early. At the earliest opportunity the vines would have been ripped up thus part explaining perhaps why now this is an extremely rare grape.
At Domaine Jones we can cater for all types of capricious grapes and we love our Carignan Gris. We feel challenged by it at times but very lucky to have some of the last remaining vines.
We only have 500 vines but Les Perles Carignan Gris that we made last year turned out so well that we want more and will be taking cuttings this year.
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