France – Château Sainte Roseline Lampe de Méduse Cru Classé Rouge 2013

Domaine and vineyard

The history of the Château Sainte Roseline begins around the year one thousand. And it begins around a water source, too. Just around the middle of the tenth century, the hermit Roubaud decides to withdraw to these lands. And there he built an oratory. The small oratory, over the years, became an abbey, known as Abbey Celle-Roubaud. And Roseline, the daughter of the Marquis de Villeneuve, Seigneur des Arcs, was abbess of the Abbey from 1300 to 1329.

Rosaline was a pious and generous woman who, in her convent shift, deeply marked the life of the abbey and the local community. And dedicate to her this place appeared as something completely natural. Even more obvious it became in the nineteenth century, when Rosaline was sanctified and her body exposed in a glass case in the municipal chapel.

In the fourteenth century, at the instigation of the bishop of Fréjus, the future Pope John XXII, the site became one of the first vineyards of Provence.

To the present day, the new era of Château Sainte Roseline begins in 1994 when Bernard Teillaud takes the reins of the estate to turn it into the pride of the viticulture of the Var and a meeting place for artists.

This process begins with a thorough restructuring of the abbey (by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte) that aims to streamline the internal spaces respecting the history and architecture of the place.

In 2007, the daughter of Bernard, Aurélie, took over from his father and continued the philosophy and the project.

Château Sainte Roseline today has 108 hectares of vineyards, where eleven different types of grapes are grown. The soil is clay-limestone and the presence of an underground spring ensures a satisfactory water intake. In the vineyard and in the cellar work is careful and constant to give the grapes the opportunity to fully express themselves in the glass.

Since 1955 the domaine has been awarded the prestigious distinction CRU CLASSE.

The wine

Before you even taste it, there are two aspects that make this wine particular. First the name, coined in 1950 by the Baroness Rasque de Laval who wanted to remember the Knights of the Order of Medusa who had a habit of "Lamper le vin", or drinking at one stroke a large amount of wine before each ceremony enthronement, to revive the spirit.

Second aspect is the bottle, created in the same year by Baroness Rasque de Laval to make this wine unique.

La Lampe de Méduse is a blend of four wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Mourvedre and Syrah.

The grapes were harvested between late August and late September and fermented separately in stainless steel containers at a controlled temperature of 28-30° C; the wines remain in this state for about a month with continuous shuffles. The wine is then assembled and then mature for 12 months in new barrels or in barriques for the harmonization.

Tasting Note

Date	16 January 2016
Wine name	LAMPE DE MEDUSE	Vintage	2013
Nation	France	Region	Provence
AOC-DOC	Côtes de Provence	Grape Varieties	10% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Carignan 20% Mourvèdre 50% Syrah
Serving temperature	16-18° C	Alcohol	14
Price (in euro)	15	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Purple red with garnet shades	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quite consistent	Soft sensations	Warm, Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Scarcely Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Quite Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Vanilla, Red Fruits
Aroma intensity	Quite Intense
Complexity	Quite Complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red fruits, Plums,	Development	Ready
	Chocolate	Harmony	Harmonious

Food and wine pairing

Lamb, game, Daube Provencal.

Once again, tasting the wines of this company, I am faced to an excellent product. Aroma, body and scents are enveloping. The aesthetic presentation in this bottle specifically created for this wine, personally speaking, is not an added value, since it does not add anything to the wine itself and is not particularly convenient to handle. One flat in this tasting: once again a good wine, once again a wine ... common without a soul on his own. If I had to make a gift to someone who I do not know the tastes, I will probably visit this manufacturer again but I would not come back again ... for me.

Official website: www.sainte-roseline.com