2021 Domaine Saint Amant, Grangeneuve, Beaumes de Venise AOC Rouge, Rhône Valley, France.
I was asked to take a look at the Beaumes de Venise region in France’s greater Southern Rhône area near Provence and the Luberon that has been famous since ancient philosopher Pliny the Elder first praised the wines here, especially the famous sweet Muscat, but now there’s plenty of fine red wines to enjoy, such as this Domaine Saint Amant AOC Beaumes de Venise Rouge, which I had not had before. This deep purple/garnet hued 2021 Grangeneuve, which is a unique blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Viognier, is full bodied, expressive, ripely smooth and very Gigondas like with loads of boysenberry, plum, cherry and blueberry fruits, as well as an exotic array of pepper spices, violets, mocha, sagey garrique, fig paste, mineral tones, warm stones, minty anise and a touch of creme de cassis. Coming from some of the highest elevation vines in the Rhône, some 500 meters up, on clay, limestone and mineral rich Trias soils. The Mistral winds, altitude and mineral rich soils, plus being on a picturesque plateau in the Vaucluse, sheltered by the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range, just above the village of Beaumes-de-Venise, make for ripe wines, but with finesse and balance. This vintage of Grangeneuve, which included 50% 90 year old vine Grenache, plus 30% Syrah, 10% Carignan and 10% Viognier, all 50 year old vines, was all de-stemmed and fermented in vat with natural wild yeasts with a maceration that lasted around two weeks. After alcoholic fermentation the wine was racked to large old wood vat, neutral 20 year old French oak, where it was aged a full 12 months to mature.
The Beaumes-de-Venise is an ancient wine region, most famous for golden sweet Muscat wines, is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. The word “beaumes” as I learned, comes from the Provençal word bauma meaning “cave” or “grotto” and Beaumes de Venise has surrounding hills have many of these caves that were inhabited long ago during the Iron Age. This area, part of the greater Rhône, and in the shadow of the famous Mount Ventoux, is often over looked in modern times, but has a lot to offer, with some fabulous Grenache based red wines being made here, some of which have been brought to the world’s attention by Kermit Lynch, who imports a fine selection from the Domaine de Durban, that I’ve had many, many times and gives me a good reference point here. The Beaumes de Venise village, as mentioned, gives its name to a sweet wine appellation, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, which are a great value and alternative to he more expensive sweet wines of Sauternes or Tokaji, but It also gives its name to a drier red wine, which until recently called Côtes du Rhone Villages Beaumes-de-Venise, which are now Beaumes de Venise AOC, as seen here with his delicious Saint Amant version,after receiving its own quality appellation control. The impressive Domaine Saint Amant Grangeneuve’s grapes are sourced from windy swept vines, above the village of Suzette, as mentioned, very high up, on 10 acres of small terraces, which has added to the intensity and depth here and has allowed the Syrah to shine, providing some savory crunch in contrast to the Grenache’s opulence and fruit density, it’s a wine I hope to get more of and highly recommend looking for.
($29 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive