2023 'La Papesse'
Cotes du Rhone (*also bottled as Vinsobres)
Domaine Gramenon

**** JLL (casks, bottling Sept 2024) quite full red; the nose has a curvy air of blackberry fruit, with life in it, a hint of dried flowers, pot-pourri. The palate is thickly juiced on attack, digs in along the palate, shows vintage conditions, is very sealed, almost robust. The tannins fit in, are dense. This is waiting, very full wine. From late-2025, not earlier. 2035-37 Feb 2024

90-100% Grenache (1930s) from a plot next to Les Laurentides on white galet stone covered clay-limestone soils at 350-400 metres, from 2020 10% Syrah “to bring a bit of finesse, to calm the Grenache that can be a bit violent, high degree”, whole bunch fermentation in an open wood vat, 2-3 week vinification, daily pumping overs, can do cap punchings, sometimes 1 x part vat emptying/refilling at end (2023), aged 75% 5-10 year 600-litre oak casks, 25% 12 hl jars 8-10 months (jars since late 2010s), unfined, unfiltered, name and ID changed from Côtes du Rhône Hauts de Gramenon in 2009, from late 2010s labelled Côtes du Rhône, not Vinsobres, has risen from 2,000 b to 4,500 b

Grape: 100% Grenache
Vineyard: Grenache from 65 years old vines high on a rocky plateau in the commune of Vinsobres with rocks similar to the galets of Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Winemaking: Partially de-stemmed. Grapes macerate for 15 days in wood tank. Wine ages in both tank and in barrique for 12 months before bottling

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.