Lot presentation

Côte-Rôtie La Landonne Jean-Michel Gerin 2011

The wine

The vineyard of Saint-Joseph and its "vin de Mauves" was famous in the 19th century until the tsar empire. Two sites were already legendary: the hillside of Saint-Epine and the hillside of Saint-Joseph, the current location of a plot belonging to Maison Chapoutier."Les Granits" is a 100% Syrah cuvée, made from the oldest stock of this variety, on poor and stony granite soils. The grapes are harvested by hand at very high maturity and then ferment slowly in small concrete vats. The wine is then aged in barrels for 14 to 18 months, in new containers or those which have been used for one or two wines. The Maison will only use free run wine during the process. With its beautiful deep garnet colour, Les Granits is refined and elegant, marked by candied notes (ripe black fruit) and roasting. On the palate, smoky and peppery notes emerge with aromas of liquorice on the finish. This wine is characterised by very good balance, taut tannins and it lingers remarkably well.

About the Producer Domaine Gerin

The Gerin family has lived in Ampuis in the heart of the Côte-Rôtie for six generations. Jean-Michel Gerin established his own vineyards in 1983 with plots in the Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu appellations and two very fine parcels in La Landonne and Les Grandes Places. His vines are tended the traditional way, by hand and without the use of chemical fertilisers or herbicides with organic conversion starting in 2020. Extraction is a priority throughout the vinification process and the wines are aged in low-capacity oak barrels. Jean-Michel's wines are concentrated and impressively velvety. His 17-hectare property takes in the Condrieu and Saint-Joseph appellations and the Collines Rhodaniennes IGP. Along with his wife, Monique, he represents the new wave of Côte-Rôtie producers even though his considerable experience gives his wines plenty of depth and finesse. In 2002 he also embarked on an additional venture, much further south in the sunny Priorat wine region, alongside friends Laurent Combier and Peter Fischer.

Detailed characteristics