La Vallée des Abeilles Rancio 2016

This Rancio is born in the Vallée des Abeilles, in Banyuls-sur-Mer, on the Côte Vermeille in Roussillon, adjoining the vineyards of Collioure. Made from old vines planted on this Mediterranean terroir, it is released as a Vin de France and offers a dry, oxidative interpretation, deeply rooted in the Banyuls landscape.

The grapes from old vines are harvested and then directly pressed. Fermentation takes place in tank before a long, eight-year oxidative ageing, carried out outdoors in 400-litre demi-muids. This exposure to changing weather gradually shapes the wine's complexity and singular patina.

This wine reveals notes of dried fruit, dried apricot, honey, dried flowers, dried herbs, coffee, praline and salty sea spray. Its oxidative profile remains elegant, between the sweetness of ripe fruit, roasted nuances and faded floral accents. The palate is broad, round and full-bodied, enlivened by noble acidity and a saline backbone that lengthens the finish with great depth.

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.