Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge AOC 2019 1500ml Magnum

A red wine of enormous density that carries its richness with calm assurance. The nose shows black figs, wild blackberries, sweet raspberries and blood oranges, along with violets, Provençal herbs, fresh leather and pepper. With aeration in the glass, it opens up progressively, gaining in depth and purity.

The Armenier family already appears in the tax registers of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 1344 as winegrowers. Today, Sophie Armenier and her son Vincent Estevenin run the 18-hectare Domaine de Marcoux. Within the appellation they farm 13 plots: the famous rolled pebbles over clay-rich, water-retaining subsoil, reddish sandstone, colluvial sediments and Cretaceous limestone soils that give the wine its tension.

Grenache Noir clearly dominates, complemented by Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault. The grapes are hand-harvested as soon as each plot and variety reaches optimal ripeness. The selected grapes are destemmed, crushed and cooled; in tank, they are given time until the natural yeasts take hold. Daily pump-overs are carried out at first, with maceration lasting four to five weeks. Ageing takes place over 18 months in concrete tanks, complemented by a few large oak foudres and older 350-litre barrels.

Immediately full-bodied, velvety in texture, concentrated yet without heaviness. Red berries in sweet, opulent abundance, ripe, enveloped tannins with a hint of cocoa, fine-grained structure and a minerality that gives the wine dynamism and persistence. The ageing potential is outstanding.

With Tian de légumes à la provençale, with wild boar terrine with black truffles, and with Gardiane de Taureau, the bull stew with rice from the Camargue.

The estate has farmed biodynamically since 1990, one of the first in the region to do so. Every bunch passes through three checks: during the hand harvest, when transferring to the trailer, and at the sorting table in the cellar. Bottled in a 1500-millilitre Magnum, 16.0% vol.