Anne Pichon Vaucluse Grenache Noir Sauvage Vieilles Vignes 2022
Grapes: Grenache
Appellation: IGP Vaucluse
Region: Rhone Valley
Farming: Organic, hand-harvested
Winemaking: fermented in concrete tanks with indigenous yeasts
ABV: 15%
Intense red color. A powerful mature grenache with spiciness, wild ‘garrigue’ herbs and liquorice cooked fruits flavors. The natural sweetness is just pointing delicately in the mouth and contributes to cover the alcohol and to enhance the intensity, complexity as well as the length of the after taste.
Anne and Marc Pichon purchased Domaine le Murmurium in the Cote de Ventoux village of Mormoiron. Comprised of 15 hectares of old vines on prime terroir adjacent to Chateau Pesquie, Murmurium is derived from Latin, meaning "The Buzzing Song of Bees," an old estate name. Anne Pichon and her late husband, Marc Pichon, started an agrarian-bohemian life together in the 1990’s when they moved into an abandoned farm house at the base of Mont Ventoux. The began to resurrect the a defunct domaine called Murmurium, meaning “the buzzing song of bees.” And while the 15 hectare vineyard was in poor shape, the site was properly organic for many years leading up to Anne and Marc’s stewardship. Today, Anne produces no more than 40 barrels of wine for T. Edward along with her sister-in-law Véronique who manages the commercial affairs. The wines themselves are named “Sauvage” inspired by the Pichons’ respect for and attachment to nature. The micro-climate Anne Pichon’s vineyard is dry, with cool, manually tilled soils that retain moisture when it rains. And because of the Mistral that sweeps up from the hills below, fruit is less susceptible to rot and disease, providing and ideal environment for organic viticulture. Employing careful vineyard management, low yields and late harvesting, Pichon hand-harvests and destems all of the fruit. Reds are vinified in small 50 HL cement tanks or stainless steel, at low temperature to achieve a long maceration and two gentle pump overs daily, with additional manual punch downs if necessary. The fermentations extend 3 to 4 weeks with a slow progressive increase in temperature to extract a very fine tannin structure. The malolactic fermentation and ageing take place partly in oak barrels but mostly in cements tanks. White wines are made from only a light pressing of first run juice and vinified in stainless steel tanks with strict temperature control to maintain a balance of ripe fruit and freshness.