Jeanne Gaillard
By David Keck
This week we revisit one of our favorite grape varieties and one that sees truly stunning expression all over the world. Despite gorgeous examples from all over Australia, from Washington State and California, as well as numerous other places (South Africa!!), the #Syrahvolution really began and finds its birthplace in the Norther Rhône valley of France.
Jeanne Gaillard (Domaine Pierre Gaillard) Syrah IGP Collines Rhodaniennes 2018
Smoky, spicy, light on the palate, but with beautiful length and floral finish, this wine is everything we want in Northern Rhône Syrah! Just a few cases available at this price. Join the #Syrahvolution!
Syrah can be rich, powerful, fruit and high alcohol when grown in warm places with lots of sunlight—or it can be more floral, peppery, lean, and spicy, when grown in locations with a cooler climate. The Norther Rhône valley is a truly spectacular, small region that mostly rises precipitously from the banks of the Rhône river. Planted mostly to Syrah (with some Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne scattered throughout), the region is kept cool and dry by the intense Mistral winds coming down from the Alps.
This week we are excited to introduce a very affordable wine from an off-the-beaten-path part of the Northern Rhône.
Pierre Gaillard is a relative new-comer in the region of Côte-Rôtie, home to some of the most amazing Syrah vines in the world. His estate was founded in 1986, but that’s not to say that Pierre wasn’t already extremely well-versed in grape growing in this region, having helped Guigal plant the iconic La Turque vineyard some years prior!
The work in the vineyards is organic, and work in the winery is experimental, using everything from new oak to amphora, depending on the vintage, vineyard, and what the fruit is telling them.
The wine that we are starting with in the great state of Vermont is actually produced by Pierre’s daughter Jeanne. She is working with vineyards in the Collines Rhodaniennes—basically the region surrounding the famous (and exponentially more expensive) Côte-Rôtie. With a cool maceration and fermentation in large neutral oak, the Syrah is clean and expressive of the region and grape in a completely un-affected way.