France – Chateau Peigros Croix Haute des Schistes Rouge 2013

Domaine and vineyard

The Château de Peigros was born, as wine company, in 1988, one of the youngest in the Pierrefeu area in the heart of the golden triangle of the wines of Provence. The breakthrough comes in 2010 when the family Ghigo, already owner of the Château Vert in La Londe des Maures, always in Provence, bought the property and attached to it further 10 hectares of vineyards and began a major restructuring that touched both the vineyard itself, with choices of varieties to grow, both the winery and the same production philosophy, with the transition, ongoing, to organic farming.

The company covers an area of 25 ha of vineyards.

Of these, 15 hectares are on clay and sandy soil. limestone (those historically belonging to the Château Peigros) therefore able to provide water and nourishment to continue screws but also good drainage; from this parcel it get the baseline of the company;

The remaining 10 ha (the parcel acquired in 2010), however, are on the side of a hill, on a stratified rock (shale) in which the vines are forced to bring down their roots deep in search of food; this particular terroir gives concentrated grapes; from this parcel derives the cuvée, called La Croix Haute des Schistes.

The wine

The Chateau des Peigros Croix Haute Schistes Rouge 2013 is a blend of syrah and grenache in equal parts. As already mentioned this wine is the cuvée of the company and is produced in limited edition (in the order of 1500 bottles. I had the 611)

After the harvest, carried by hand, the grapes are brought to the wine cellar partially de-stemmed before going into vats for fermentation

Tasting Note

Date	29 June 2016
Wine name	CROIX HAUTE DES SCHISTES	Vintage	2013
Nation	France	Region	Provence
AOC-DOC	Cotes de Provence Pierrefeu	Grape Varieties	50 % Syrah 50 % Grenache
Serving temperature	16-18° C	Alcohol	14
Price (in euro)	25	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Garnet with blue shades	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Consistent	Soft sensations	Warm, Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Tannic – Quiet Tasty
		Flavors intensity	Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Red Berries, Cassis, Liquorice,
Aroma intensity	Intense		Pepper
Complexity	Complex	Finish/Persistence	Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red fruits, Wild Strawberries,	Development	Ready
	Cloves, Hay Dry, Burnt	Harmony	Harmonious

 

Food and wine pairings

The wine is recommended in combination with dishes of duck, white meat in sauce or hard cheeses aged (mimolette or Cantal).

I walked into the Ghigo family boutique to buy white wine for a gift and see this cuvee, aesthetically appealing and limited edition has really intrigued me. The first bottle: heavy, thick glass, with original label and cured and the capsule wax for a product that wants to be noticed.

Opening, from the bottle exhale scents of spices, hay, burned; in the glass we find a deep color garnet nectar, with bluish and a bouquet of complex aromas and wide. The wine is consistent, persistent, with a pleasant taste and aromas of red fruits, pepper and liquorice; the tannins are smooth. A wine made to stand out ... and that, in the enormous commercial offer of international grapes, he succeeds.

Official website: www.vignobles-ghigo.fr