France – Château la Canorgue Coin Perdu 2014

Domaine and vineyard

The Château la Canorgue has a long history behind him: the main house stands on the foundation of a Roman villa. In medieval times, then, the villa was the seat of a feudal lord who by edict of Pope Benedict XIV was elevated to the rank of count.

Its name comes from underground channels that the Romans had dug into the rock to catch the water. And, did equally rare in these parts, the Château la Canorgue belongs to the same family for 5 generations.
Different is instead its history as a winery. In the sixties of the last century the domaine had fallen in total state of disrepair after the death of Jean, the then head of the family. Her daughter Martine and Jean-Pierre (husband and himself the son of winemakers) decide to take matters in hand and the seventies are working tirelessly to put back on track the first vineyard and winery then. The work is difficult because few strains are safe: it is necessary to replant everything, redo everything from scratch.
The first result of this venture comes in 1979 with the Gold Medal at the Paris General Agricultural Competition. From then on prizes and awards follow one another to celebrate the regularity in quality. Since 2000, Jean-Pierre joins her daughter Nathalie to continue the family tradition.
The Château la Canorgue, today, covers an area of ​​40 hectares on which is grown is the typical grape varieties of this region nestled between the Mediterranean and Rhone (Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Bourboulenc , Vermentino) that yield wines labeled as AOP Luberon, is unusual grape varieties here as Merlot, Cabernet and Gamay.

Since its revival in the seventies the Château la Canorgue follows the principles of Organic Agriculture with an almost maniacal care of the vineyard and minimal processing in the cellar.

The vines have an average age of 40 years with small parcels vito almost centenarian which yields a limited edition cuvee. Yields are low, in the order of 15-30 hl / ha.

The wine

The Château la Canorgue Coin Perdu 2014 is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre all coming from the oldest vines of the company, located on the same parcel. Only half of the grapes are de-stemmed and then all together undergo a maceration of 15 days and then spend five months in barrels.

Tasting note

Date	25 October 2016
Wine name	CHATEAU LA CANORGUE COIN PERDU	Vintage	2014
Nation	France	Region	Provence
AOC-DOC	Luberon	Grape Varieties	Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre
Serving temperature	16-18° C	Alcohol	14
Price (in euro)	20	SO2 (in mg/l)	//

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Ruby Red	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Consistent	Soft sensations	Warm - Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Blackberry, Prunes,
Aroma intensity	Intense		Licorice
Complexity	Quite Complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red Fruits, Licorice	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food and wine pairings

Parmentier of beef cheek, Saddle of hare, pork tenderloin, duck with five spice, confit lamb shank. Excellent drink alone.

A wine hidden among the shelves of the Chateau La Canorgue. I, like thousands of tourists, paid a visit to this domaine first attracted by the name and the film that was shot. And invariably I would leave with a bottle gift.
Instead I tasted excellent wines, including this one that stands out for complexity and taste. A ruby red with aromas and flavors on the red fruits and licorice, due to the strong base of the assembly Syrah. In the mouth the wine is warm, sweet and enveloping tannins for a final on ripe fruit and licorice. The wine comes from a small vineyard near the property and it is a real pleasure to be lost has been found .... Really a nice emblem for the Luberon.

Official website: www. chateaulacanorgue.com

France – Bunan Moulin des Costes Cuvée Charriage 2010

Domaine and vineyard

The history of Domaine Bunan begins in 1961 when Paul et Pierre Bunan fell in love with a piece of land in the prestigious and noble AOC Bandol, in the south of France. With the second generation of Bunan to the head of the company the family takes a more granular control of the entire production and sales chain. In recent years, crucial for the domaine, the Bunan name makes its appearance in the envoironment of world wine, in particular the United States, and the company becomes a destination of great interest both for wine tourism circuits and as a location for ceremonies or vernissage of art.What over the years has never changed is the philosophy of the family that is to make good wine respecting the vines. Which means, nowadays, the turning of production towards the biological and biodynamic.The Domaine Bunan covers an area of ​​40 hectares distributed in the municipalities of La Cadiere d'Azur and Le Castellet on a clay-limestone soil, ideal especially for the main grape of this AOC, the Mourvedre. The yields are very low, to obtain a concentration and a higher quality: here we are about 35 hectoliters per hectare.

The wine

The Bunan Charriage Cuvée 2010 is mainly Mourvèdre (the specification of the AOC Bandol does not allow single-grape wines that still has to be added a 1% of other grapes, with no impact on the taste and characteristics). The grapes are selected when they are still in the vineyard and exclusively on older vines, grown in the parcel called Moulin des Costes. Following stripping, maceration, pre-fermentation  and then daily pressing during the 31 days of maceration in wooden conical. Following a slight shift in barrels before bottling and a long aging before being marketed.The result is a wine with intense and brilliant color, with a strong body and round and soft tannins. An ambitious wine, able to make his mark in the memory of one who tastes.It 'a wine to be stored in the cellar (again the optimum comes ten years after the harvest). In any case, however, before tasting the wine is decanted and left to breathe for about two hours.

Tasting Note

Date	21 September 2016
Wine name	CUVEE CHARIAGES	Vintage	2010
Nation	France	Region	Provence
AOC-DOC	Bandol	Grape Varieties	Mourvedre
Serving temperature	18° C	Alcohol	14
Price (in euro)	29	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Full
Color	Purple Red	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Consistent	Soft sensations	Warm, Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Blackberry,Pepper
Aroma intensity	Intense
Complexity	Quite Complex	Finish/Persistence	Persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Spices, menthol, cedar	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food and wine pairings

The wine holds up well pairing with red meat, confit de canard, dishes made with truffles, lamb shoulder or leg of lamb stuffed.

After buying this wine, so great was the curiosity of taste it again that, when I came home, I immediately uncorked a bottle. The first impact was however unfortunate: the wine had a great flavor, moderately intense aromas and above all, lacking in body, it seemed watered down!
I had not read, in all honesty, the board to let him breathe. I waited, hopeful, and after a couple of hours I was enyoing anything but wine, rich, round, fragrant and tasty. A wine that will remain in the memory.
Small anecdote: a bottle of this cuvee is heavier than traditional bottles, as if to emphasize the weight of this product within the range of the company offers.

Official website: www.bunan.fr