2020 Domaine Serre Besson, Cru Vinsobres AOC Rouge, Rhone Valley, France.
The Serre Besson Cru Vinsobres, a new wine and producer to me, was a huge hit at a recent Rhône tasting, with this garnet hued and full bodied 2020 vintage showing off deep layers of dark and brambly boysenberry, plum, black currant and candied cherry fruits, along with touches of earth, peppery spice, wild sage (Garrigue), lavender, hints of violet florals and tarry licorice. There’s a sense of purity and energy flowing in this Serre Besson, which is a blend of typically 50% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 15% mixed with portions of Cinsault, Mourvédre, and Carignan, that all add to the depth and balance. Serre Besson, which was founded in 2016, is owned by Victor Taylor, an American, and his partner Xavier Nyssen, who by chance came across an old selection of old vines with a for sale sign on the road. Since taking over here they have been busy converting the vines to full organic farming and fine tuning the wines in the cellar to show off the potential here, and this vintage is fabulous and delicious effort. The Serre Besson vineyard, which is up at 450 meters and was originally planted in 1961, slopes down from the forested mountain crest with Syrah planted at the highest elevation and the other varieties continuing on down the hill, with a total of 11 individual parcels.
The Vinsobres has, finally, been recognized as its own appellation, a fine terroir Northwest of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, closer to Gigondas, and it is a big upgrade from a generic Côtes du Rhone. I would argue this was long over due, to make this area its own AOC since it has a cooler climate, complex soils and provides for high quality grapes that are some of the best and age worthy in the Rhône region. Vinsobres, which was granted its AOC in 2006, planted mostly to Grenache and Syrah, which sees a higher percentage typically, but also sees some Carignan and Mourvèdre in the mix, deserves to be more widely known, as this wine, and others, like those from Saint Cosme and Gramenon certainly prove. The Serre Besson’s vines sit in hillsides with soils that are a mix of clay, limestone and river stones rich in calcite. Victor and Xavier, of Serre Besson, are fermenting mainly with indigenous yeast and use de-stemmed berries in cement tanks with, they say, a certain proportion of the stems layered back into the tank interspersed with the grapes. The blending of the lots, with most varietals done separately, is done the following spring and the wine is matured in a combination of cement tanks and in 400L oak ovals, about 25% new French oak, which allows for its satiny mouth feel and adds to the wine’s luxurious profile. I look forward to following the Domaine Serre Besson in the future and will definitely enjoy more of the current value packed vintage, which is drinking very nicely right now, but should continue to be rewarding for many years to come.
($25-34 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive