2024 Bruno Duchéne, La Luna, Côte Vermelle Rouge, France.
The dark ruby red hued and aromatic La Luna Côte Vermeil Rouge, is an organic field blend of Carignan, Grenache Noir and Mourvedre from a dozen or so plots around Banyuls, that is busting with fresh red red fruits, florals, spice, stemmy herbal crunch and mineral tones. The medium to full bodied palate is a vibrant array of cherry, raspberry, plum and strawberry fruits, along with hints of peppery spices, cinnamon, licorice, lavender and a bit of orange tanginess. The vines here are at least 50 years old and are terraced on steeply sloping hillsides, with complex shale soils at a good altitude, which helps cut into the ripe warmth of the sun. I understand, for this wine according to the winery has a non-interventionist “Natural” vinification, with maceration done all whole cluster, native yeasts and uniquely without pumping it over. This is said to give the wine a particular freshness due to the presence of the stems in fermentation, and I found it wonderfully drinkable stuff that is fun and delicious in the glass, but without much of varietal presence or terroir character. I’m convinced there is potential here and will give Duchéne a another go soon and I do like this one a lot for its tuple drinkable style, and may not have wowed me, but it was one I will try again.
New on the wine scene, Bruno Duchêne, who was once a wild mushroom distributor in the Loire valley, now makes wines in the sunny south of France. Today, Bruno lives in the town of Banyuls, famous for long aging sweet Grenache dessert wines, where he produces dry reds from some of France’s hardest to work vineyards. Duchêne owns 4 hectares spread over 4 parcels, all on schist but with enough exposition and micro-climate influence to craft his natural style wines. The wines are clean here at Bruno Duchéne and this La Luna saw 60% stainless steel aging with the rest in old neutral cask to preserve its vitality and purity of form, and while the wine is delicious and and mentioned fun to enjoy, it loses some of the sense of place I would have hope to find here. Sometimes that is what happens with these kind of natural wines, though that said there is no flaws or funkiness to get through here and maybe over time, if well cared for, there will be more depth to come through here. Again though, it is very nice now and highly quaffable wine that most people would really enjoy, as I did. I would definitely drink a few more bottles of this La Luna and look forward to seeing what this producer does in the future.
($38 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive