Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge AOC 2020

A classically built Châteauneuf-du-Pape that brings together power and elegance. The nose remains fine and layered: violet and aniseed, a touch of pepper and garrigue, plus juicy dark raspberries, black cherries and blackberries. In the background, a bouquet garni and a hint of crushed stone. The cuvée comes across as transparent and clear.

Domaine de Marcoux farms 18 hectares spread across 13 parcels in various sectors of the appellation: quartzite pebbles, clay, red sandstone, colluvium and Barremian chalky limestone. A tax register from 1344 already lists the Armenier family as winegrowers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape; today Sophie Armenier and her son Vincent Estevenin run the estate.

The proportions shift with the vintage, generally 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre, 7% Syrah and 3% Cinsault. Hand-harvested with pre-sorting in the vineyard, transported in 50-kilo crates, then sorting table, destemming, pressing, cooling. Fermentation runs spontaneously and under controlled temperature, maceration lasts four to five weeks with daily pump-overs. This is followed by 18 months of ageing, largely in concrete, along with older barrels and barriques.

Sophie Armenier and Vincent Estevenin have given this vintage a notably elegant texture: red and dark fruit, a distinct liquorice note typical of the high Grenache share, and garrigue once more. The alcohol brings warmth on the finish but stays well integrated. Already fine, silky texture and great length.

Bœuf à la Gardiane, braised beef with oranges and olives. Likewise paella with chorizo, merguez and garlic sausage or a yellow split pea, chickpea and lentil soup with fresh thyme.

The domaine has farmed biodynamically since 1990, one of the first estates in the region to do so; François Bouchet was the mentor behind it. Between the tight rows of old Grenache goblet vines, Vincent Estevenin drives a Saint-Chamond tracked tractor.