Domaine Sainte Rose - La Garrigue - Lanquedoc

Domaine Sainte Rose er en familieejet vingård nær byen Servian i Languedoc regionen i Syd-Frankrig.
Deres filosofi er en mere intelligent indgangsvinkel til det at udvælge sine vine. Alt for længe har de traditionelle og bedre kendte vinområder i Frankrig, levet på områdernes omdømme og ikke så meget vingårdens egne vine.

La Garrigue er opkaldt efter den helt unikke regionale planteflora, kaldet garrigue, som man finder i Languedoc. Her er buske med lavendel, timian, rosmarin, enebær og malurt. Alle aromatiske og velduftende buske, der bidrager til det terroir, som vinstokkene er en del af. Hele samsuriummet bidrager til en grøn, rustik og urtet stil i vinen, der gør den til en områdetro Languedoc-vin i særklasse! Udover de urtede elementer er næsen spækket med mørke solbær, kirsebær og peber. Munden er fyldig og moden, med en uimodståelig struktur og lang eftersmag.

Se vingårdens hjemmeside HER - Se også en video med Charles, når han viser os slottet og en årgangs tilblivelse HER   
 

Good-value stuff! Herby, savoury and lightly pruny. Bob Tyrer, Sunday Times Style Magazine, January, 2012.

Attractive beaker of the warm south with some development and the herby insistence of a bouquet. Sweet and rich and only a tad animal. Lots of grunt here but no excess of oak or alcohol. Nicely judged. Jancis Robinson, Purplepages, July, 2011.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2011- Commended.

Impressed most with its carefully delineated herby-leathery scents – all very Languedoc. The palate was soft and savoury… Andrew Jefford(of Decanter), January 2011. …

my vote goes to the latter’s [Languedoc] strong, spicy, chocolate and black pepper-scented Domaine Sainte Rose La Garrigue. Jane MacQuitty, The Times article “Switch to red if you’re game”, 15th August, 2009

Charles and Ruth Simpson left Blighty to make wine at their Languedoc Estate and almost every one has been a winner. This Garrigue, named after the pine and herb-scented scrub of southern France, is made from the estate’s mostly 50-year-old syrah and grenache grapes. Enjoy this gorgeous, hefty, peppery, garrigue-scented wine with barbecued red meats. Jane MacQuitty, The Times, 11th July, 2009

Interesting, quite complex nose for the money. Gentle tannins and no excesses. A great buy at the two-bottle price. Good value. Jancis Robinson ,Purplepages, April 2009.

Medal Winner in the 2009 International Wine Challenge. May 2008

Dark, meaty, flavour-filled blend….impressive! Joe Breen, Irish Times, June 2007

Charles and Ruth Simpson have made a success of their move to the Midi as this Sainte Rose duo proves: this velvety red, a blend of syrah and grenache, is thick with full, ripe herby, peppery fruit. Jane MacQuitty, The Times, March 2007

This d’Oc wine is a blend of Grenache and Syrah. It has an inky black colour and a spicy nose of cherry, thyme and herbs and a background of cedary, nicely judged oak and black plum fruit. On the palate it is fleshy and fruity, with plenty of crunchy and juicy blackberry and black cherry, and a softening note of sweet, damp earth and briarwood. It is crisp and fresh style of wine, though the makers suggest it will cellar for four or five years. Very good indeed. Tom Cannavan, wine-pages.com, 2005

Domaine Sainte Rose La Garrigue receives a ‘Special Merit Award’ in the Vancouver Magazine Wine Awards.

A Syrah-Grenache-Carignan blend with some spice and supple fruit. Ripe and rounded. Rosemary George, MW, 100 Fantastic French Buys, Decanter Sept. 2004

Softly rounded palate with fleshy fruit and well integrated tannins. Rose Murray Brown, MW- The Scotsman, 10th July 2004

A concentrated mouthful of dark fruit and spicy richness with a firm, dry finish. Fans of red will love this intensely flavoured, characterful wine. Mary Dowey, Irish Times, June 2004

A tasty number from southern France’s Languedoc, this is one of the best wines to have with grilled food; especially if you want to get fancy and grill up some rare lamb chops with lots of pepper and garlic. Big fruit, a nose of Lavender and sage, and a spicy finish. Worth every penny…….yum. The cork board, Colorado, 2004

La Garrigue is one of their top cuvées … and is one of the Languedoc’s shrewdest buys Berry Bros. & Rudd, www.bbr.com, 2003

Up front crunchy grenache fruit leads to gently spicy palate with good mouth feel and decent length David Dickenson, MD 3D Wines, 2003

A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan with 14% alcohol. A delicious array of aromas and flavours here – thyme and rosemary with baked fruitcake notes coupled with cherry and pepper. An upfront fruity softness finishing with a tannic burst. Scribblings Rating – 90/100 Andy Barrow, andys-scribblings.co.uk, 2003

Domaine de Sainte Rose har en rig historie i rejsen mod status quo. Sainte Rose selv, hvis statue står i Orangeriet bag Chateauet, kæmpede for katolicismen, da den blev angrebet af den hellige romerske kejser Fredrick II. Hvor hensigtsmæssigt givet deres nuværende gåen mod de traditionelle vine i regionen. Det har også været et sted hvor rejser begynder, som i det 12. århundrede var det en hostellerie for pilgrimme på vej til Santiago de Compostela. Den aktuelle rejse er ikke mindre udfordrende for Ruth & Charles

Det begyndte i 2002, da Ruth & Charles købte Domainet med en ambition om at skabe fremragende vin.

De er ambitiøse mennesker, som hver gav op med højtflyvende karriere for at forfølge deres drøm. De har stor respekt for den gamle verdens terroir, men de anvender New World teknikker i vingården såvel som i vingården for at sikre, at man høster topkvalitet frugt og laver rene vine med minimal indgriben. Fra deres 40 hektar store vingård har de nu skabt et udvalg af prisbelønnede vine, der har vundet international anerkendelse og sælges rundt om i verden.

Ruth & Charles lover, at de vine, de laver, vil både overraske og glæde, og at de vil ændre ens mening om Languedoc regionens evne til at producere ekstraordinær vin. Vi ved, at vores område har en ikke alt for herlig fortid. Men man gør det til en mission at ændre alt det. Kom med på et "korstog" og de lover, at du ikke bliver skuffet. Deres vine er så gode, hvis ikke bedre end dem, der produceres i andre regioner med historisk bedre omdømme. Som nogen for nylig sagde, 'forandring kommer'.