Maison Les Alexandrins, a signature modern in approach and contemporary in style. This wine owes its remarkable complexity and strength to Syrah, very much the king of grapes in the Côte-Rôtie appellation. An elegant, perfectly balanced wine with velvety tannins; smoky and black fruit flavours highlight its fine structure.
Presentation
Description
A partnership between two winegrowers from the Rhône Valley – Nicolas Jaboulet and Alexandre Caso – Maison les Alexandrins produces northern wines in a style at once contemporary and timeless, always from exceptional vineyards unearthed by Alexandre Caso, a specialist in the terroirs of the northern Rhône Valley. Classics with a twist, these wines and how they are aged and blended are guided by the quest for perfect harmony from a very young age. Most of our vines grow in the south of the appellation, in the Côte Blonde and Coteau de Tupin sectors.
Terroir
The granite parent rock is covered in places by schist but also by sand and chalky soil.
The vintage
After a particularly hot and dry summer, the harvest began on August 17th with a perfectly ripe crop of white grapes, early enough to preserve all their freshness and natural balance. The reds followed, benefiting from a few saving rains that gave them more refinement. We favored infusion over extraction on our Crozes-Hermitage and our Brézème, preserving the crunchiness of the Syrah and the very delicate fruit of the vintage. In the cellar, the punching down and pumping for the 3 weeks of maceration released power and character for our Cornas, Saint Joseph and Hermitage. After devatting, a long aging will allow the wines to develop their aromatics, refine their tannins and gain in amplitude. The balance is already beautiful with controlled degrees and a lot of depth.
Location
Côte-Rôtie has been an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée in the northern Rhône Valle since 1940. Starting life on the right bank of the Rhône, Côte-Rôtie wines forge their character from the appellation's extremely steep slopes, which in places reach gradients of over 60°. The very narrow vineyard is planted in terraces just a few dozen vines wide. Only a few kilometres from Lyon, this is the northernmost appellation of the Rhône Valley.
Process
Our aim here is to produce consistently refined wines offering elegance and finesse.
- Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping over for the first few days and then punching down towards the end.
- Ageing for 15 months in one year-old barrels and in demi-muids (60-litre capacity barrels).
- Maceration and fermentation for about 20 days with pumping over for the first few days and then punching down towards the end.
- Ageing for 15 months in one year-old barrels and in demi-muids (60-litre capacity barrels).
Varietals
Syrah : 98%
Viognier : 2%
Viognier : 2%
Specifications
Advice
Tasting
Beautiful intense dark-red colour. With great finesse, the nose offers a superb aromatic bouquet with aromas of blackberries, spices and pepper, delicately mixed with slightly smoky notes. The palate continues with elegance, with a dense and suave texture with very present but remarkably refined and silky tannins, perfectly balanced by a very beautiful freshness reminiscent of the granite terroir with a very long finish. A particularly refined wine.
Food pairings
This wine will go perfectly with a tender lamb packed with flavour.
Serving
This wine should be decanted at least an hour before serving to reveal its fullest expression. Serve at 17°C. Drink young.
