Producer

Brought in by Matt Thonson to help track down a source of good French house wines for Liberty Wines. New Zealander Alana McGettigan used some of the best fruit and the excellent facilities at the Caves de Rivesaltes in the Languedoc to make the Vignes de L?Eglise range. The Cave de Rivesaltes co-op was founded in 1932 and together with its partner, la Cave de Salses le Chateau, covers more than 3,000 hectares, cutivated by 550 growers.

Vineyard

The fruit for this wine was taken from a selection of vineyards on the plains and hills in the Rivesaltes area. Soils in this area are generally clay based, with some limestone.

Vinification

The grapes for this wine were selected specifically from some of the premium vineyards in the area, and were mostly hand harvested. At the winery the two different varieties were de-stemmed and crushed before maceration in temperature controlled tanks for less than 24 hours. The musts were inoculated with selected yeast strains, and fermented at temperatures up to 34?c. During fermentation, manual pumping over took place to extract good colour and supple tannins. There was less pumping over towards the end of the fermentation. After ten days of fermentation, the wine was pressed and transferred to tank for malolactic fermentation. It was aged for 6 months before being lightly fined and bottled.

Tasting notes

Good depth of colour, with forward perfumes of ripe strawberries and plums. Powerful and concentrated on the palate, with a good balance between the opulent fruit and full, robust tannins.