*** JLL quite a full red colour; the bouquet is ash-noted, has an air of cooked plums with garrigue tones. The palate gives a red berry flavour, its gras a bit brief; it’s firm, dense, the tannins sweet and still entering. It’s vintage marked, rather hard going to penetrate it. From mid-2024. 2030-32 Feb 2023

Grape: 100% Grenache
Vineyard: Old Grenache vines (50-70 years old)
The Gramenon vineyards lie on Clay, Limestone varied with gravel, galets roulés, and/or sand.

Winemaking: Partially destemmed. 15 days maceration in cement. Partially de-stemmed clusters. Fermentation with natural yeasts. Light addition of sulfite after malolactic fermentation depending on vintages. Aged ages for 12 months in barrique

Kermit Lynch: The seemingly reserved façade of Michèle Aubèry-Laurent melts away quickly when she speaks about her wines. As a former nurse (who often favored natural remedies), she has come to treat her vines with the same care, conviction, and passion as she had for her former patients. She and her husband, Philippe, bottled their first vintage of Domaine Gramenon in 1990, in the far northern-eastern stretches of the southern Rhône, in the town of Montbrison-sur-Lez. Philippe was a talented vigneron—both creative and edgy—and he loved to push the envelope of the regulations. In 1999, in an unexpected twist of fate, he was killed in a tragic accident. Michèle was suddenly left on her own with their three children, vineyards, and a winery to deal with. Crushed but undaunted, Michèle stepped to the forefront, boldly picking up where Philippe left off. Over the years, Michèle has discovered her own creative voice in her new vocation; in so doing she has catapulted Domaine Gramenon into cult wine status. Today, she works twenty-six hectares with her talented son, Maxime François (a rising star in his own right), farming both young and very old vines alike. They employ organic and biodynamic practices in the vineyards, with a strong non-interventionist stance in the cellars.