No products in the cart.
Discover my selection
Deep purple colour. Rich and complex nose of blackberries and plum with notes of cedarwood and olives. Full-bodied on the palate with dark fruits, licorice and a touch of menthol and balanced with an endearing freshness. The tannins are silky through to its long finish. Best enjoyed after 7 years and can drunk up to 15 years from the vintage date.
* Volume discount over 12 bottles.
** Remember to select your state to check availability.
*** For a shipping quote, please provide details of wines & quantities. Can mix cases with other wines from the same winery.
La Verrière is by far the oldest property that I work with, dating back to the 15th century when it was built as a glass blowing facility, with an abundance of silica for the glass and trees for burning available in the Dentelles hills. Certain parts of the property are reputed to have been built in the 9th century. On the other hand, the winery, Chêne Bleu which was established at La Verrière in 2006 is the youngest that I work with. The property was in ruin from the 1950’s. The ruin and the surrounding 30 ha (75 acres) of vineyards and 70 ha of forest was purchased by Xavier Rolet in the 1990’s with the aim of restoring the property and its vineyards.
The terroir is located at 500 m (1500 ft) of altitude, thus conserving a greater level of natural acidity in the wines that is normally the case in the Southern Rhône. As well bringing a great freshness, the higher natural acidity gives great ageing potential to the wines. In common with the great vineyards of the region, the soils are infertile with a high degree of limestone, generating concentrated and complex wines with good minerality.
The vineyards covers four different wine classifications: AOC Ventoux, IGP, AOC Gigondas and AOC Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret . The two top reds, Héloise and Abelard are produced from old vines plots which cross the different classification boundaries, so are labelled with the base classification, IGP. The vineyards are contiguously located around the property and surrounded by forest which provides the perfect scenario for organic viticulture. The property also incorporates biodynamic approaches to assist them in their goal of natural viticulture.
The winery is built into the slope which means gravity can be used to move the wine through some of its stages and thus reduce the need for pumping. The wines are fermented in a mixture of stainless steel and “foudres” (very large upright oak barrels) for the reds and stainless steel and/or smaller oak barrels for the whites and rosé. The two top reds are aged for up to three years in barriques (225 litre small oak barrels) and concrete.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (RP)
2012 vintage (93 points): A blend of 65% Syrah, 31% Grenache and 4% Roussanne, the 2012 IGP Vaucluse Heloise spent 18 months in oak prior to blending and bottling. Hints of sweaty leather and scorched meat combine with black olives and raspberries on the nose, while the palate is medium to full-bodied, supple and concentrated, with a long finish. Overall, it does a lovely job marrying fruity and savory elements and bringing them together in a silk-wrapped package.
Wine Spectator (WS)
2012 vintage (92 points): This offers up a deep well of warm, crushed plum, açai and blackberry fruit flavors that glide over hints of loam, sage and menthol, all backed by a lingering licorice root note on the fleshy finish. Distinctive. Syrah, Grenache and Roussanne. Drink now through 2025.