Grape(s): 80% Grenache / 20% Mourvèdre
Localization: Languedoc, France
Tasting Notes: The nose is at first a little shy, then after 30 minutes, opens up on exuberant patchouli, lilac, coriander seed notes enhanced by some blueberry and vine peach hints. The palate is darker and chewier than expected, without losing its delicacy - I would put this on the Mourvèdre. It adds also some black raspberry, rose water, leathery and smokey notes, balancing very well the volubility of the Grenache.
Notes: Foulards Rouges Grenache, written in Arabic, is from a parcel of 100-year-old head-pruned vines on sandy gravel soils over granite. Hand-harvested, the grapes are chilled on arrival, macerated whole-cluster at 15C temperature in the tank without pigeage nor remontage in order to preserve the freshness. Whole Cluster Fermentation for 15 days
All the free run and press juices are blended, then the wine is aged for 6 months in cuve before being bottled by hand without any fining, or filtration.
Food Pairing: Enjoy it with roasted duck breast, cranberry, and coriander seed jus or with beet carpaccio seasoned with pistachio oil and grapefruit zest.
The Domain: For 12 years, Jean-François Nicq worked as a winemaker in the Côtes du Rhône. On the first of January 2001, Jean-François joined his childhood friend, Bijan Mohamadi (who had been spending his days as a math teacher like our friend Cyrill Sevin) to start a new domaine at the very southern end of the Languedoc. "The Red Scarves" is a literary reference to the works of Fréderic Fajardie, whom the men greatly admired. Their philosophy is in turn a militaristic one, completely against intervention in the vines or the cellar. Native yeasts, no fining, filtration, added sulfur, and even some tillage with the help of their mule, Uma: The real deal. The vineyards are composed of multiple plots, on the lower, flatter part are mostly decomposed sandier soil. On the hillside, 100 meters up, are isolated single plots: Frida, Les Vilains, Les Glaneurs, Grenache. They lie directly on the bedrock with barely any topsoil and show more density.
