Rémy Ferbras Terre de Mistral Plan de Dieu Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2018 (France) - Wine Review

After the enjoying the lovely 2017 Rémy Ferbras Terre de Mistral Plan de Dieu Côtes du Rhône-Villages in Spring of last year, for tonight's red wine review I'm delighted to see the next vintage come to the LCBO next weekend as part of the September 10th LCBO VINTAGES Release.

It is produced by Rémy Ferbras, a range of wines that pays tribute to the first cellar master of Maison Grandes Serres - a winery with deep roots in the Southern Rhône Valley at the heart of the presigious vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Rémy Ferbras is an iconic figure of the winery as he was a tireless advocate of the Rhône terroir and its grape varieties. He also contributed largely through his work and tenacity to the development and recognition of Grandes Serres. The Rémy Ferbras range is a result of strict selections, precise vinification and ageing, to produce rich, elegant, complex, and flavourful wines, just as Rémy Ferbras would have it.

This red wine from Rhône is a classic blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, or GSM for short. The grapes were grown within the Plan de Dieu Côtes du Rhône-Villages appellation on soils mostly composed of limestone pebbles and brown clay. After harvesting the grapes at optimum maturity, each variety was vinified separately and after alcoholic and malolactic fermentations, the wine was blended and bottled.

The 2018 vintage in the Southern Rhône was a bit of a hit and miss with humidity, mildew, and uneven ripening issues due to unexpected rainfall. However, despite a challenging growing season, the resulting wines were generally good and more densely concentrated that normal with strong fruit flavours and structure. Let's see how this 2018 Rhône wine from Plan de Dieu is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

RÉMY FERBRAS TERRE DE MISTRAL PLAN DE DIEU CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES 2018 - AP, Rhône, France (#538009) (XD) - $15.95
This classic blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre has a fresh, perfumed, medium-high intensity nose with a lovely bouquet of ripe dark red cherry, floral, and spices with touches of red plum and subtle earthiness. On the medium to medium-full bodied palate it offers delicious red cherry and raspberry flavours in a slightly cooked profile, plus spices and earthy-stony-smoky minerality notes. Acids are fresh and well-balanced, while the tannins are smooth, refined, and lightly structured with a subtle grip on the back palate. Tangy with lovely stony mineral notes lingering on the very long aftertaste. Enjoy this recommended buy over the next 3-4 years. Score: 89 pts

Other lovely wines by Rémy Ferbras are available through their Agent - DBINO David Beauroy Selections.

Read More

Rémy Ferbras Terre de Mistral Plan de Dieu Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2017 (France) - Wine Review

On this fine Friday, tonight's red wine review is a bright and lovely Côtes du Rhône-Villages that arrived at the LCBO last weekend as part of the April 3rd LCBO VINTAGES Release.

Rémy Ferbras was the first cellar master of Grandes Serres, a winery with deep roots in the Southern Rhône Valley. With the Rémy Ferbras range of wines, Grandes Serres pays tribute to the iconic figure of the winery who was a tireless advocate of the Rhône terroir and of its grape varieties, and always succeeded in expressing the full potential of the Rhône Valley wines. Through his work and tenacity, Rémy Ferbras played a large role towards the development and public recognition of Grandes Serres. The range of Rémy Ferbras wines are the result of strict selections, and precise vinification and ageing, just as Remy Ferbras would have preferred.

Rémy Ferbras produces a diverse array of wines from the Southern Rhône Valley's most popular appellations, and this particular bottling is from Plan de Dieu, one of the named villages of the Côtes du Rhône-Villages appellation. Plan de Dieu, which translates to "God's Plain", is located in the Southern Rhône Valley, just west of Gigondas, and covers an area of 1,060 hectares, most of which is planted to vineyards with only a few patches of woodland among the vineyards. The climate in this area is Mediterranean and influenced by the Mistral winds, while the vines are primarily grown on a bed of red clay and smooth-rolled cobbles. The leading grape varieties of Plan de Dieu are Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, all found in this wine, and pick up aromas of the surrounding garrigue scrublands.

Although Plan de Dieu is linked to viticulture going back nearly 700 years, it was only awarded Côtes du Rhône-Villages with geographical name status for red wines in 2005. In order to give the appellation an identity, winegrowers designed a special bottle that is embossed with the village name and the vineyard's coat of arms - a bunch of grapes topped with an halo. Let's see how this latest vintage is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

RÉMY FERBRAS TERRE DE MISTRAL PLAN DE DIEU CÔTES DU RHÔNE-VILLAGES 2017 - AP, France (#538009) (XD) - $16.95
This blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Mourvèdre was grown on soils mostly composed of limestone pebbles and brown clay, with each grape vinified separately prior to blending and bottling. The medium-high intensity nose is elegant and composed with red fruited, raspberry, cherry, and spices with underlying savoury tones flecked with stony minerals. It's full-bodied with very good fruit concentration on the spicy palate with more red fruit, cherry, and raspberry flavours balanced with stony and savoury notes. Acids are fresh, while the fine-grained tannins have some structure. Some chalky textured grip on the long, spicy, stony, and savoury finish. Enjoy this great buy over the next 3-5 years. Score: 90 pts

Other lovely wines from Rémy Ferbras can be found at the LCBO (there is a Châteauneuf-du-Pape), while the rest of the portfolio can be ordered through their Agent - DBINO David Beauroy Selections.

Read More