Domaine Les Sibu Vacqueyras 2024

The Vacqueyras from Domaine Les Sibu comes from one of the crus of the southern Rhône Valley, at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail, in the Vaucluse. The family estate, based in Sablet, farms 1.85 hectares of vines there. The hot, dry Mediterranean climate, swept by the mistral, puts this terroir to the test and concentrates the Grenache and Syrah grapes, which express here all the richness of the surrounding garrigue.

The vines, around twenty years old on average, are farmed organically, with yields limited to around 30 hectolitres per hectare. The blend brings together 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah. The wine is then aged for 12 months in concrete tanks, without oak, to preserve the radiance of the fruit and the expression of the terroir.

This wine reveals notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, liquorice and violet. Beneath a purple colour with bright glints, the nose is deep and powerful, marked by garrigue and a peppery touch. The palate is full and structured, dense yet fine, with a freshness that extends a long, lingering finish.

The cradle of wine culture in Western Europe, France owes its first vines to the Greeks of Phocaea, who settled around Marseille some twenty-six centuries ago, before the Romans spread viticulture along the Rhône and the Garonne and as far as Champagne. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian and Benedictine monks cleared the slopes of Burgundy and patiently mapped out the climats, laying the foundations of the notion of terroir. The 19th century brought the glory of the classifications, then the disaster of phylloxera, which wiped out the vineyards before they were rebuilt on American rootstocks; the creation of the appellations d'origine contrôlée in the 1930s then set the rules that would inspire the whole world. Today, France vies every year with Italy and Spain for first place in world production by volume and remains the ultimate benchmark of the Old World, as much for its age-worthy wines as for its winemaking models. Vineyards cover almost the entire country, from the cool north of Champagne and Alsace to the Mediterranean shores of Languedoc and Provence, by way of the oceanic climates of Bordeaux, the Loire and the South-West, continental Burgundy, the steep slopes of the northern Rhône and the high-altitude valleys of Savoie and the Jura. This mosaic of soils – limestone, schist, gravel or rounded pebbles – explains the extraordinary diversity of styles. As for grape varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate Bordeaux and produce structured reds, Pinot Noir is the signature of Burgundian finesse, Syrah of the depth of the Rhône, while Grenache, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Mourvèdre cover every register, from easy-drinking wines to wines for long ageing. Among the whites, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Riesling and Viognier offer expressions ranging from lively and mineral to unctuous, all the way to great sweet wines. A land of benchmarks and constant discoveries, France remains the compass for wine lovers the world over.