Region: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone, France

Varietals: 60% Grenache, 19% Mourvèdre, 21% Syrah, Cinsault, Vaccarese and others.

Tasting notes:  The deep shimmering magenta color in the glass hints and the power of this wine. Ripe red and blue fruit, floral and garrigue scents, along with building licorice and baking spice notes. Smooth and fleshy on the palate, offering alluringly sweet black raspberry, cherry cola and floral pastille flavors that are sharpened by a jolt of spicy white pepper. Shows superb energy and blue-fruit-driven thrust on the clinging finish, which hangs on with strong, youthfully tannic persistence. It’s a mouthful and perfect for the holidays.

Producer:  Dating back to Alexander Barrot’s aquisition of the land in the 17th century, Christian Barrot inherited his family’s 5 ha (13 acres) estate in 1972 and has since grown it to 15 ha (30 acres) spread throughout the northern region of Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC. From the start, Christian knew the value of his terroir and focused on selling his wine in bulk to prestigious wine merchants in the northern Côtes du Rhône. In the early 2000s, Christian’s children, Laetitia and Julien, joined the family business and made the decision to estate bottle their own wine. Today, Laetitia handles the marketing and sales, while Julien, who received degrees in enology and business, is winemaker. Julien’s experience working in other wine regions including Côtes du Rhône, Bordeaux, Languedoc and Australia contributes unique insights to his family’s estate. “We put our heart and soul into winemaking and are deeply-rooted in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We are proud of our heritage, down-to-earth, and hardworking, and aim to offer you the best possible wine, while continually striving for excellence.” - Julien and Laetatia Barrot

Vineyard and Winemaking: The 'Signature' bottling of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is predominantly composed of Grenache, blended with Mourvèdre, Syrah, and small quantities of Cinsault, Vaccarese and others. All vines are grown upon representative soils of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (yellow and red sand, red clay, large pebbles) with a high proportion of sand, and the average age of the vines is more than 70 years old. The vineyards see rigorous bud pruning, green harvesting, and leaf thinning. The harvest is entirely by hand, with sorting in the vineyard and again in the cellar. The wine stays on the skins for over 4 weeks seeing only gentle extractions. It is then aged in tulip-shaped concrete tanks, old oak casks and 600 barrels for 20 months. The wine is not filtered before bottling.