La Jassine Bieler Pere et fils, Cotes du Rhone 2024

$20.00

Charles Bieler spent years trying to make a red worth bottling from the Provence vineyards behind his rosé. It never worked. Then the Lavau brothers showed him Valréas, a hundred kilometers north, and La Jassine was born. Sixty percent Grenache, forty Syrah, all from Lavau family vineyards in that hilltop village. Native yeast, a third whole cluster, thirty days on skins, concrete. Southern Rhône with grip and lift.

Brooding raspberry and black cherry, garrigue herbs, rosemary and thyme, with chocolate and tobacco underneath. Rich but not heavy, tannins soft and round, fresh through a long finish.

Classic matches for a red like this: Grilled and roasted meats, hearty pastas, aged cheeses.

Valréas is the northernmost village of the southern Rhône, up at 350 to 450 meters, with much cooler nights than the valley floor. Most of the vineyards face north and west on limestone and galets. It is also the point where Syrah starts to overtake Grenache in the blends.