Domaine le Clos des Lumières Marselan “Les Cypres”
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Marselan is the love-child between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache Noir.
- The vineyards sit on top of alluvial sand soil from the Gardon river, underneath there are grey-clay soil from the Pliocène period, a deposit of algae’s when this area was covered by the Mediterranean.
- This region also benefits from the largest number of sunshine hours of France, important for the photo-synthesis, sugar and maturing process. The northern wind called “Mistral”, blows up to 100 days a year, and keeps the vines clean and healthy.
- Limited amounts of fertilizers are used, only to maintain a balance in the soil, and when required by the vines. This is based on soil and leaf analysis.
- The yield is kept at a low level in order to have a high quality of grape. This is done by hedging, leaf-thinning and green harvesting.
Varietal Composition: 100% Marselan
Elaboration: The harvest is done during the night to limit oxidation. The grapes are destemmed and crushed, followed by a cold pre-fermentation maceration to enhance fruit aromas in the wine. The vinification is done at low temperature with regular pumping over and cap-punching.
Tasting Notes: One can sense the heritage of the Marselan grape in each sip. The wine gets its roundness, depth and juiciness from the Grenache. The structure and some spiciness from the Cabernet. Dark colored wine. Very intense nose dominated by black fruit, blackcurrant, mulberry, ripe cherry. The palate will again reveal these black fruit aromas, but is followed by spices such as bell pepper and laurel. The tannins are present but well built in.
PRESS
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PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Domaine le Clos des Lumières is a 50-hectare, family farm founded in 1946 by the grandfather of the domaine’s current vigneron, Gerald Serrano. The ambitious and talented Gerald Serrano is solely responsible for the recent “coming out” of this estate – Prior to taking things over in 2003 Gerald’s father was selling all grapes on the estate to the local cooperative.
Having grown up on the property, Gerald is intimately familiar with the terroir here. The oldest vines now edge 60 years in age and this land really seems to “pack the character in.”. We’ve sold massive amounts of Rhone wine over the last forty years, and these are the most well-received Cotes du Rhone values we’ve carried in our history.