2005 Domaine Richaud Cairanne Côtes du Rhône Villages Southern Rhône France. 14.5% alcohol. Chambers Street Wines; $22.49. Imported by Louis/Dressner, New York, NY.
Deep red color; deep hue, intense aroma of dark fruits, spice, earthen and minerals, very good to excellent fruit tastes, very rich and full but not sweet at all, spice, earth and mineral notes, smooth medium mouth feel, very good tannins that became very smooth over time in the glass, long lingering finish with wonderful fruit notes and hints of spice, minerals and earth. A wonderful impression of purity. Worked very well with grilled salmon and roasted vegetables. 4*.
Notes:
Louis/Dressner: We have also brought in Richaud's bottling of Cairanne. This is from vines that are between 40 to 50 years old and is an assemblage of grenache, syrah and mourvedre. It is Marcel’s use of mourvedre that makes this a remarkable cuvée – Cairanne is perhaps the northernmost terroir where Mourvedre will ripen. But even in super ripe years, where the grenache goes up to 14 or 15 degrees, Richaud’s mourvedre ripens perfectly at 12 degrees or so. Richaud’s excellent mourvedre vines give the final blend of this cuvée a finesse and purity that is difficult to find in the Rhône.
K&L: Marcel Richaud is now considered by most in the international wine press to be one of the two top producers in the Cairanne area. A recent jaunt through the happening wine-bistros in Paris revealed to what extent his wines have taken the town by storm. He does a special bottling for the famed Willi's Wine Bar, for example Richaud's formula is very simple. The wines are made in the vineyard by pruning short, never using synthetic fertilizers, keeping the average age of the vines over 25 years old, and keeping the yields down. Nature does the rest (so he claims). The result is a red wine such as this 2005 Cairanne with remarkable purity of fruit, ripe tannins, and excellent balance.
Lyle Fass: Marcel Richaud is perhaps IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion) one of the top three or four estates in the Southern Rhone. He avoids some of the pitfalls that a lot of Southern Rhone producers fall into which is wines that have way too much heat and not enough character. This has glorious Southern Rhone character, pure fruit and wonderful purity and ripeness. Sappy and with a wonderful core of minerality and ripe, sweet tannins.