DOMAINE DE LA SOLITUDE The Cellar

CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE ROUGE 2000 RESERVE SECRETE

Gold Medal, Wines of the World, Vinalies Internationales 2003, Paris Silver Medal, International wine and spirit competition 2003, Londres     CLASSIFICATION Red wine - AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape PRODUCTION AREA Vines grown at our Domaine de la Solitude vineyards at Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The 2000 vintage was characterised by an exceptional maturity. Grapes for the Réserve Secrète come from a selection of the best parcels of our Domaine. This Cuvée is commercialised only in exceptional vintages. AVERAGE YIELD 30 hectolitres per hectare SOIL COMPOSITION Rounded quartzite stones from the Villafranchian period conferring on this domaine one of the best terroirs of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. They absorb heat during the day then radiate it at night, ensuring full grape maturity is reached. GRAPE VARIETIES 60% Syrah 40% Grenache Noir CLIMATE Mediterranean, with mild winters, low rainfall and hot summers. The dominant wind is the Mistral. HARVEST By hand, at the appropriate time for each grape variety to be at full maturity, based on grape tastings by our expert panel. The grape bunches are then carefully sorted to remove any unwanted fruit. VINIFICATION After careful crushing and destemming, the must passes to our vats for maceration and fermentation. These processes take about one month at carefully controlled temperatures with both daily pumping over and hand plunging of the cap. The resultant product is then pressed, and the free-run juice is separated from the press juice in order to be aged separately. Malolactic fermentation follows shortly after. AGEING 80% of the wine for Réserve Secrète is aged in small new oak barrels for 12 months. The wine is then assembled carefully following the expert guidance of our testing panel, and then aged an additional 6 months in vats. The wine is then stabilised in bottles for 6 months before commercialisation. TASTING NOTES A masterful wine, it is full-bodied and elegant, massively tannic whilst remaining very smooth. Sweet black fruit, slightly spicy with mocha and coffee aromas. Above all there is a velvety texture caressing the palate and leaving an ethereal sense of greatness on the long finish. SUGGESTED FOOD ASSOCIATIONS Chevreuil in sauce "grand veneur" with a confit of bilberry and chesnuts, duck with wild mushroom sauce, stuffed pigeon, capon with truffles. Chocolate gâteau, clafoutis of cherries, black forest cake. Comte cheese WINEMAKERS COMMENTS Drink now through 2025. Service temperature: 16 to 18°C AVAILABILITY In bottles of 75 cl, packed in cases of 6 bottles or alternatively in cases of 12 bottles

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	EARL DOMAINES PIERRE LANÇON
	Domaine de la Solitude - BP 21 84231 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cedex - France Tél. 04 90 83 71 45 Télécopie 04 90 83 51 34 e-mail: solitude@mnet.fr