2018 Domaine Grosbois 'La Cuisine De Ma Mère En Vacances à Gaillac'

Region: Gaillac < France

Grapes: Syrah,  Merlot,  Braucol,  Duras

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: certified organic farming with some biodynamic practices, sandy, clay/limestone and gravel soils, fermented and aged in open concrete tanks; bottled unfined/unfiltered with 30ppm SO2; 14% ABV

Winemaker: Nicolas Grosbois

The Grosbois estate, which has been in the family since 1820, sits squarely in the Loire Valley, which means Chinon country for reds.  But after losing 80% of his 2016 harvest in the Loire, Nicolas Grosbois took his 'Cuisine de ma mère', his classic Chinon, on vacation in Southwest France to borrow some organic grapes from a friend there. And thus, his glou-glou cuvée made from Duras, Braucol, Merlot and Syrah (the typical spicy, dense grapes of the Gaillac region) was born.

With plush fruit and lush tannins, this is a decadent, fruit-forward wine.  The fruit is dark, earthy and inky, dripping with jammy blueberries blackberries but balanced by menthol and smoke. A killer BBQ wine.  SERVE LIGHTLY CHILLED.