{"product_id":"carabistouille-2018-le-pelut","title":"Carabistouille 2018 - Le Pelut","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 2018 vintage was a hot one in Limoux. This Merlot paints that picture with grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeppery notes of spice, plum fruits, juniper, and brodo spring from the glass, with firm tannins and fresh acidity bringing balance. Carbonic maceration preserves a sense of fluidity and lightness in this undeniably solar wine. With the tannins now well integrated, this is the perfect barbeque wine. Best lightly chilled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eI first met Pierre at Salons de Vins Libres in Alsace, where the complex aromatics and savoury, pastille structure of the cuvées he was showing upended my understanding of wines vinified by carbonic maceration. I have since visited his cellar on several occasions, in an isolated biotope close to Limoux, close to where his vines grow. Even in July, under the relentless southern sun, the surrounds of his cellar and vines are remarkably verdant, owing to the microclimate this pocket of the Languedoc enjoys.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePierre is originally from the Loire valley, and after studying agriculture, rural conservation, and heritage, he took farm work wherever he could find it. During stints in wine cellars, Pierre observed the juice transforming into wine, and he knew that this was the course he wanted to take.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile working for his friend Sylvain Saux of Domaine Pechigo, Pierre got the lucky break he had been waiting for, hearing of a parcel of vines that the owner was not going to harvest. It had never been treated with chemicals, and it was due to be pulled up and replanted. Pierre negotiated with the owner and acquired the fruit, producing his first vintage, just 2 barriques. A few years later, another parcel came up to rent, and Pierre took the opportunity, though that first year his naivety taught him a valuable lesson. He used no treatments at all, and lost the entire crop. Since then Pierre has been fastidious in his vineyard management, as steady handed as is possible, and has harvested every vintage since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePierre’s vines are split across two blocks, a hectare of Merlot in Villarzel, a south facing slope that’s among the highest in Malepère at 300 metres, on the typical clay and limestone of the region. The other holding is La Mothe, with 4 hectares under vine as part of an 11 hectare polyculture. Here Pierre has 20 year old plantings of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay on a northern tilting slope on clay and limestone at 180 metres of elevation. This site is particularly isolated, surrounded by fruit trees, hedgerows and grasses, a real oasis of tranquillity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything is certified by ecocert, and Pierre harvests all his fruit by hand. At the cellar, nothing is destemmed, the reds are all vatted in whole bunches and pressed after a few days. After pressing, the wines age on the lees in a mixture of stainless and resin vats, with Pierre liking how the microporosity of the resin influences the wines as they age. Elevage usually runs for 12-18 months, after which long bottle ageing in cellar before release is common.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHighly individual, Pierre’s wines are built on a structure of mineral density, complex bitterness, and savoury fruit, making them remarkable pairing wines.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlongside his wines, Pierre distils a selection of elegantly perfumed eau-de-vie with the fruit he harvests from the trees at La mothe, and each year produces a piquette that he sells for export.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe place\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVillarzel is the smaller of Pierre's two plots, a single hectare of Merlot on one of the highest slopes of the Malepère, at around 300 metres in the hills between Carcassonne and Limoux. The parcel faces due south with a clear view across to the Pyrenees, and the vines, now over thirty years old, were farmed without chemicals for years before Pierre even arrived. The Malepère is unusual for the south. It's the only appellation in the region built around Merlot, with the climate here as much Atlantic as Mediterranean. Weather funnels in from the west through Carcassonne, and rainfall is higher. Summers enjoy a gentler heat than on the coastal plain, and as such the Bordeaux varieties ripen without cooking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrapes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Merlot\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegion:\u003c\/strong\u003e Limoux, France\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Le Pelut","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54988702384466,"sku":"22\/002121","price":31.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1116\/0246\/7154\/files\/bw-carabistouille-2018.jpg?v=1793699098","url":"https:\/\/www.brianswines.ie\/products\/carabistouille-2018-le-pelut","provider":"Brian's Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}