Domaine Jones Grenache Noir 2017

Vineyard

From our breathtaking vineyard near the village of Maury.  Domaine Jones started here in 2009 when I purchased 8000 vines planted on dark black slate soils overlooked by the impressive Queribus castle.  I fell in love with the vineyard and the wines that it produced didn’t disappoint me either.

Harvest

The grapes are handpicked in crates of 12 kg. They are destalked and put into small stainless steel vats and chilled to 5° C for 2 days before fermentation takes place. The  maximum temperature is 25°C during fermentation.  We do a cold soak on the grapes for 3 days before fermentation which takes 10 days .

Tasting

The 2017 is a concentrated soft red with pure, fresh mulberry and red fruits.   The tannins are silky and smooth with savoury damson acidity and a good balance.  The wine is decidedly moreish, approachable but not simple and is perfect with steak, casseroles or more simply with pâté and toast.

Grenache - but not as we know it!

At Domaine Jones, we’re not afraid to do things differently and we don’t mind standing out from the crowd.  We do not follow trends, we start them, and I know we have raised an eyebrow or two in the village by turning something of an underdog grape into a Crufts champion!

You may remember that a couple of years ago I bought a vineyard planted with Lledoner Pelut - aka Hairy Grenache - so called because of the soft down on its leaves.  In 2015 we tried making the wine - you can read about it here:

A short back and sides for the hairy grenache
A history of the Lledoner Pelut in Tuchan

but after the harvest, I went rather quiet as we were disappointed with the results.  Last year we thought we'd have another go but we did it differently.

We have also let our imagination run wild and created a unique label with a quirky cartoon style that wraps around the bottle and really does tell a story.

So, what does it taste like then? Well, as you might imagine, it is close in style and flavour profile to its more mainstream cousin, but in general makes for a paler coloured red wine, but still with plenty of fruit and a lighter structure. Some say as it ages (we are yet to see)  there is a hint of Burgundian Pinot Noir about it. 

There is not much Lledoner Pelut around at all and my 1000 bottles were snapped up as quickly as you can say Hairy Grenache.  I do have a couple of cases put to one side for members of the Domaine Jones Wine Club and visitors to the Domaine.  But I'm getting back out into that vineyard to start combing those leaves for next years vintage.