Wines Éric's
Sablet, made from very year old Grenache vines, is a dark purple-violet
color and almost unctuous wine. The nose features ripe dark fruit, pepper
and is reminiscent of the spices found in the best Gigondas. This is a
full-bodied wine with round well-structured tannins in perfect balance
with the crisp acidity. It will age gracefully for 2-10 years and pairs
well with any game (pigeon, lamb, venison) and can be especially enjoyed
with wild mushroom risotto.
Vineyards
Éric's very old ungrafted Grenache vines are located on the
côteau just behind the ancient village of Sablet on a northwest-facing
hillside. From the vineyard, the view of the entire Southern Rhône
valley is simply breathtaking. The vines are planted at 3000 vines per
hectare.
Terroir
Located 30 kilometers east of Orange, Sablet is tucked between Séguret
and Gigondas with the Detelles de Montmirail looming over the vineyards.
The sandy soil is pure limestone with yellow, earthy jagged rocks of various
sizes and as the vineyard climbs the côteau less clay is found.
Because of the large amount of sand in the soil, there is little risk
of phylloxera and the vines did not need to be grafted to American root.
The climate is Mediterranean with the exception that le mistral will
blow her gusts. Nights and early mornings are often very cold with intense
heat in the afternoon. As a result, the ripening of the Grenache is delayed
and normally a few weeks later than near by Châteauneuf du Pape.
Côtes du Rhône Villages
In 1953 four villages in the Southern Rhône were making wines considered
to be of higher quality than those usually produced under the generic
Côtes du Rhône label. These four villages - Cairanne, Laudun,
Chusclan and Gigondas were not considered to be ready for full appellation
status (like those of Châteauneuf du Pape, Côte Rotie, Hermitage,
etc.) but were certainly superior to the many Côtes du Rhône
wines produced. Therefore the INAO (National Institute of Appellations
of Origin) decided that if these villages followed agreed upon rules they
would create a new status to identify their higher quality wines. Rules
were laid out that governed grape varieties, yields per hectare and the
minimum alcohol strength of their red wines raised from 11% to 12.5%.
Producers following these rules were then allowed to market their wine
as Côtes du Rhône - "Cairanne" for example and therefore
to promote the distinctive characteristics of their local terroir. After
two additional villages joined this illustrious group (Vacqueyras in 1955
and Vinsobres in 1957) a common title was created in 1967 to apply to
all of the wines: Côtes du Rhône Villages. Today there are
16 villages with this status
| 
