Domaine de La Mordoree - Tavel Rose Le Reine Des Bois 2021

·         60% Grenache, 15% Clairette, 10% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 5% Bourboulenc (2021) / 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Cinsault (2022)

·         40 yr vines

·         galets roulés (large round stones) on a sandy mix; Vallongue plateau

·         10% destemmed; temperature control. Hand harvested & estate bottled.

·         Pairings : roasted and or spicy chicken, duck, goose, fish soup, white meat, seafood, fish, Asian cuisine, garlic dishes.

·         "Brilliant orange. Red and dark berry, floral, citrus zest and succulent herb qualities on the deeply perfumed nose, as well as hints of smoky minerals and baking spices. Concentrated yet lithe, offering palate-staining black raspberry, cherry and blood orange flavors and a suave touch of candied lavender. The mineral and spice notes drive a strikingly long, gently chewy finish that echoes the floral and blood orange notes. This bottling is not just an outstanding rose, it's a flat-out exceptional wine, period – the food-matching potential here is endless. Mushroom risotto and seafood paellas come to mind, as does blue cheese and grilled, strongly seasoned rabbit, even artichokes. - Josh Raynolds"

-  Antonio Galloni's Vinous (June 2021), 94 pts

A powerful core of black cherry and plum flavors reverberates throughout this profoundly ripe, stately wine that’s anchored in minerality and freshness. A Grenache-based blend of both red and white regional grapes, it’s a deeply extracted, garnet-hued rosé that truly straddles the lines between red and white winemaking. Framed with tea tannins, it’s a satisfying year-round sip that will hold well into 2024.

A little paler in colour than usual, this has a spicy note to the blood orange aromas and a slightly musky scent. Full-bodied, powerful, there's a touch of grip on the tongue that adds texture and interest, and a long finish. Plenty to enjoy here, this will last. Also contains 10% Clairette. The estate is now run by Ambre Delorme, a biodynamic evangelist who has led the estate to Demeter certification. 

[Outer quote mark]  Lastly, the smaller production 2021 Tavel La Reine De Bois comes from more pebbly soils (the base Tavel is more sandy soils), and while it's not as powerful as some of the past vintages, it nevertheless has remarkable purity, precision, and elegance, with beautiful notes of framboise, honeyed flowers, spice, and crushed stone. Rosé doesn't get much better in my opinion, and this is Tavel at its more elegant and seamless. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, the estate compared 2020 to a mix of 2019 and 2018, commenting that their 2020s were less concentrated than their 2019s, which I wholeheartedly agree with, although I feel their 2020s still have plenty of structure. The 2021s show the fresher style of the vintage but don’t lack ripeness and have plenty of texture. As usual, all of these wines are impeccably made and worth seeking out.