2022 La Manarine, Côtes du Rhône, Red Wine, Rhône Valley, France.
The La Manarine Côtes du Rhône Rouge, close to 100% Grenache, is an old world charmer and this 2022 is very pure with a dark garnet/ruby color and an expansive array of red fruit, spice, stony notes and includes subtle earthiness and a light rustic feel, while being very easy to love. The medium full palate is nicely fresh with bright red raspberry, sweet plum, red currant jam, tangy strawberry and cherry fruits, along with brambles, white pepper, wild minty sage, lilac, anise and a touch of leather. The La Manarine used Grenache Noir, that was from all de-stemmed grapes, from 40 plus year old vines, saw a fermentation in cool stainless vats with a cuvaison (macerated on the skins) of about 20 days, after which it is then raised for a year on the lees in stainless steel and enamel lined tanks before a racking to clarify, then aged another 6 to 8 months. Thanks to Monica at the Oystertown USA restaurant in Monterey for sharing this fun old world selection, who has it on her well curated by the glass list, not to mention the fantastic raw selection of Oysters and the incredible sea food chowder I had with it!
Domaine la Manarine, as mentioned in prior reviews, was established back in 2001 by Gilles Gasq, who was the long serving assistant winemaker at the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s Domaine Monpertuis, and he has a wonderful collection of vines as well as his cellar in the tiny village of Travaillan, in the southern Rhone just northeast of Orange, not too far from Chateauneuf. The soils here are mostly marl (limestone) and is also littered with Galets, the smooth round stones and pebbles that are famous in Chateauneuf and Gasq has mainly Genache planted here, though he does have a parcel of Syrah and recently added a vineyard of Carignan, which he plans on bottling as a single varietal wine along with a smattering of various white grapes that form his Cotes du Rhone Blanc. The warm and dry Mediterranean climate leads to small yields of concentrated grapes making for wines of complex and dense in flavor. There is so much going for this wine, especially at the price, it’s easy to quaff, but has been built with solid structure, and it is great with food, this is a wine to drink over the next 3 to 5 years, I love this vintage again, in particular its fresh detail and length. Imported by Rosenthal, La Manarine, which is a limited bottling, is available in select markets, but with chasing down, particularly if you’re a Rhône lover.
($18 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive