Domaine D'Aupilhac Les Cocalieres Rouge 2016
"It takes a special kind of vigneron to look out across France’s most esteemed appellations and vineyard sites, deemed so decades if not centuries before, and proclaim, “I am going to create a new vineyard just as special from scratch!” But then again, Sylvain Fadat of Domaine d’Aupilhac is no ordinary vigneron. In the 1990s, Sylvain identified a volcanic amphitheater high in the Montpeyroux hills, with soils of basalt, raw limestone, and marine fossils, as a unique terroir perfectly suited to making extraordinarily elegant wine from Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre.
First, Sylvain had to move mountains to make this vineyard a reality—literally, by clearing huge boulders and some of the shrubbery that clung obstinately to the hillside. Then, he planted his vines, which are surrounded, to this day, by a landscape teeming with wildlife and aromatic herbs. He was vindicated right out of the gate: his earliest bottlings from Les Cocalières hold up, after twenty years in bottle, as stellar reds. This rouge, which has five years of bottle age and has just arrived directly from Sylvain’s cellar, benefits even more from the older vines and Sylvain’s deepened experience with this terroir. It is no exaggeration to say that this cuvée shows some of the greatest finesse of any red wine from the south of France." -Importer notes
First, Sylvain had to move mountains to make this vineyard a reality—literally, by clearing huge boulders and some of the shrubbery that clung obstinately to the hillside. Then, he planted his vines, which are surrounded, to this day, by a landscape teeming with wildlife and aromatic herbs. He was vindicated right out of the gate: his earliest bottlings from Les Cocalières hold up, after twenty years in bottle, as stellar reds. This rouge, which has five years of bottle age and has just arrived directly from Sylvain’s cellar, benefits even more from the older vines and Sylvain’s deepened experience with this terroir. It is no exaggeration to say that this cuvée shows some of the greatest finesse of any red wine from the south of France." -Importer notes