Staff Notes:
"The single vineyard bottling of Estagnol from the Bronzo family is made from fifty year old vines, with the cépages of this bottling being ninety-two percent mourvèdre and eight percent grenache. The soils here are limestone and clay and the rows are planted east-west, which delays ripening a bit (and is certainly beneficial in this age of global warming). The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in old foudre. The 2015 Estagnol delivers a fine aromatic constellation of sweet dark berries, cassis, roasted meats, a touch of pepper, bonfire, a fine base of soil and just a hint of garrigue in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, pure and full-bodied, with plenty of sappiness at the core, superb structure and grip, ripe tannins and a long, nascently complex and very promising finish. This wine is listed at 14.5 percent octane and carries its ripeness very well indeed, with only a hint of backend heat. It is a proper vin de garde and will demand plenty of cellaring time before it blossoms, but it will be excellent in due course." 93 Points John Gilman, View From the Cellar