Domaine de Cristia Cotes du Rhone Vieilles Vignes
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Winemaker Baptiste Grangeon has been on a roll over the past decade with these wines from his family estate. These are ripe, powerful wines that never lose their Southern Rhone soul, and if anything, these latest 2016s and 2017s are more reserved and elegant than past vintages. Baptiste Grangeon makes a more progressive/modern style of Chateauneuf du Pape with his Domaine de Cristia releases, primarily with his Cuvee Renaissance, which sees some new oak, but both his Traditional cuvee and the Vieilles Vignes releases lean towards the richer, more fruit driven style as well. Nevertheless, all these wines ooze Provencal charm and character. The one change is with his white, which was made in a crisp style in the past, and starting in 2017 is now brought up in plenty of new oak and is a rich, opulent, powerful white. The domaine follows organic agriculture for all work in the vineyards and has been certified from the 2008 vintage. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides are used to treat the soils or the vines. Ploughing and weeding are practiced according to the blocks and the yields desired. Vines are treated with copper sulphate and sulphur occasionally blended with a nettle infusion/tea (four to five times a year). Only organic fertilizer (i.e., sheep manure) is used.