Astralabe rouge AOC 2019
The Astralabe rouge AOC 2019 from Chêne Bleu is a blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, grown at 550 to 630 metres on Mont Ventoux and aged in concrete vats.
CHF 28.50
Prices in CHF, including customs duty and all import charges, plus shipping CHF 15 (free from 12 bottles or CHF 300) — no further charges on delivery.
Available for Switzerland
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About this wine
Character
Young, expressive and lean in its drinkability: the Astralabe rouge holds its Mediterranean spice within a cool, linear frame. Power and grace show themselves here less through fullness than through the tension between dried herbs, cool stone and fresh acidity.
Terroir and origin
The vines stand at 550 to 630 metres on Mont Ventoux, at Domaine de la Verrière near Crestet, the region's highest-lying vineyard. Xavier and Nicole Rolet have rebuilt the former monastic estate since 1993 and farm it biodynamically. Mediterranean warmth by day, marked cooling at night: the grapes ripen more slowly and retain their freshness.
Grape variety and vinification
80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, vinified by Jean-Louis Gallucci and aged in concrete vats. The cellar is carved 12 metres into the rock and operates across four levels by gravity flow, so the harvested grapes are never pumped. The wine is 14.0% ABV and dry.
On the palate
On the nose, dark raspberries, hibiscus and a touch of cassis, along with blueberry yoghurt, yeast, smoked meat, mint, a touch of liquorice, cool stone and a green olive steeped in herbes de Provence. The palate stays slender and cool: ripe raspberries, sloes, damsons and undergrowth. The tannin is fine-grained yet present, the acidity polished, with warmth arriving on the finish.
Food pairings
Beef colombo with bay leaf, allspice and paprika, chicken tagine with apricots, or feta-gratinated pumpkin with tomatoes.
Special features
The priory stood for 45 years without water or electricity until the Rolets restored it over the course of ten years. Xavier Rolet now also keeps bees at the estate, part of the biodynamic work.
