2020 La Sarrasine

Jeb Dunnuck: 92

The Story

The Domaine de Bonserine was founded by Charles Mandelstam 45 years ago with a group of friends from the Côte-Rôtie. Charles Mandelstam’s ambitions were based around quality and with this in mind he grouped together a team of professionals driven by passion and ambition inspired by Côte-Rôtie. The Domaine de Bonserine is the second largest of the appellation and now covers 11 Ha in Côte-Rôtie and 1 Ha in Condrieu (the Côte-Rôtie appellation covers a total of 180 ha.). "La Sarrasine" is Bonserine’s signature wine. It is a blend of 10 terroirs mostly coming from the North part of the appellation in the Cote Brune (brown slope), hence the name “Sarrasine” (translating to “Saracen”). Cote Blonde is the larger of the two hills with a terroir of sand, granite, schist rock, and limestone soils. Those elements crate a lighter coloured soil than the Cote Brune. Cote Blonde is located slightly south of Cote Brune giving it a south by south east exposure. Cote Brune has is the smaller of the two hills and has a terroir of clay and iron oxide along with granite, mica, schist rock and limestone soils. Those elements create a darker coloured soil than you find on the Cote Blonde. These differences in terroir explain the power and more masculine style of wine from the Cote Brune, versus the opulent, lush qualities found in Cote Blonde wines. The average age of vines is 30 years.

Winemaking

Severe pruning, leaf plucking, and if necessary, a green harvest, to ensure low yields of healthy ripe grapes (AOC authorizes 44hl/ha but Bonserine averages 30-35 hl/ha.) Hand-harvested and sorted three times to select only the best grapes. Every parcel is vinified separately, and fermentation triggered by its own wild yeast. The yeast present naturally on the skin helps the terroir to express itself. At Bonserine, the philosophy is to work "as naturally as possible", both in the vineyard and in the cellar. All vineyard work is conducted following sustainable practices; in all its vineyard farming, no herbicides, chemicals or pesticides are employed. Maceration lasts four weeks; the goal is to do more pump-overs than punch-down in order to extract the noblest tannins. The wine was aged for 24 months in 600-liter oak casks named “demi-muids” (60% new).

Tasting Notes

97% Syrah complemented by 3% Viognier. The wine is dense in colour and reveals aromas of cocoa, mocha, plums, dark fruit, and pepper. This earthy and meaty wine is opulent with great finesse, smooth tannins and a long finish.