2017-C Domaine La Florane 'A Fleur de Pampre', Cotes du Rhone Villages, France (750ml)
A Monthly Wine Club Selection
This wine is a blend from 30-year-old Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan vines hand-harvested just a few minutes from the cellar. Each lot was vinified separately in stainless steel vats before being aged on fine lees in concrete - highlighting both the varietal and terroir traits and lending to the wines’ inherent freshness. Deep garnet in color, with sultry aromas of dark fruit, red plum and a hint of smoked meat. The palate is fresh and juicy with red and blue fruits, fresh red plum, wet stone and a smooth tannin on the spicy finish.
Domaine la Florane produces wines from vineyards in the village of Visan on land handed down through the family of Marie-Pierre Fabré, while the vines in Saint-Maurice bear the name of Domaine de l’Échevin. The latter domaine was created by François Fabré in the 1990’s on land owned by Guillaume de Rouville, a family ancestor who was mayor of Lyon in 1586. In 2001, the family’s two estates began using the same, specially-built wine cellar although each estate kept its name. Then, in 2019, they were united at last—though the cuvée names remain unchanged.
Visan belonged to the Knights Templar before passing into papal ownership in 1344, and was part of the Papal Enclave for nearly five centuries. In Notre-Dame-des-Vines chapel, one of the arches of the choir bears the inscription prosuerunt me custodem in vinae: “here they placed me, the custodian of their vines”. After lengthy negotiations, Pope Clement VI traded Visan to the Dauphin (French heir apparent) Humbert II for a debt write-off. Visan became part of France permanently by decree in 1793, in the department of Vaucluse and the canton of Valréas. In 1966, Visan was granted Côtes-du-Rhône Villages status. The original village wall built by the popes, and a multitude of Renaissance et Baroque townhouses, have all been preserved. This charming historical district in the old village is not to be missed if you are fortunate enough to visit!
Domaine la Florane is a distinctive estate consisting of 38.5 hectares of vines nestled amid an additional 37 hectares of luxuriant broom, truffle oaks, olive trees and lavender. Demeter certified (Organic & Biodynamic), the Visan parcels are planted in the south-facing valley—called a coste chaude, or “sunny hillside” in Provençal. François and Adrien (the third generation to cultivate this land) tend the vines with meticulous precision, while Peggy Rambault, the oeonologist, conducts the orchestra in the cellar!