2019 Domaine des Escaravailles Le Ventabren Cairanne

Renown Rhone critic Jeb Dunnuck is enthusiast about the 2019 Southern Rhone vintage, summing it up as follows:-

“…these are inkier colored, concentrated, full-bodied wines that stay surprisingly focused and lively on the palate. Despite the hot growing season, the wines hold onto impressive aromatics, with clean, pure fruit aromas and little in the way of over-ripeness. Tannins across the board appear to be ripe, the wines have plenty of mid-palate depth, as well as length, and I found few signs of over the top wines. Quality throughout the Southern Rhône Valley also appears to be high.
…. in short, 2019 appears to be a beautiful, possibly exceptional, vintage for the Southern Rhône….”

Domaine des Escaravailles Le Ventabren is typically a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 10% Carignan that is aged in concrete vats for 9 months. The Grenache and Carignan vines are 60 years old whilst the Syrah comes from 30 year old vines.
Inky black heart with a deep dark red hue. Powerful black cherry, liquorice and black raspberry scents intoxicate the nostrils followed by some scorched earth, provincial herb and peppered dried meat notes. Rich pepper infused black cherry, black raspberry and liquorice fruits are layered across the palate with plenty of intensity and weight. Ripe chewy tannins give the back half a muscular feel with some scorched earth, dried meat and herbs du Provence characters lying underneath. The long finish is both generous and robust.
Drink over the next 4-5 years.
Alc. 15%