Hautes Cances 2006 Cotes du Rhone – Old Vines and Ready to Drink – Everyday priced for Superb Rhone Quality

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  IVineyards at Domaine les Hautes Cances

Parker gives the 2006 Cotes du Rhone vintage a 90!

“The 2006 reds are far better than I expected. The wines are full of charm, elegance, and ripe tannins with good balance. They will be more accessible in their youth than the 2005s, but the purity and freshness suggest they will last longer than expected.” -Robert Parker

“The [2006] vintage shares some of the qualities that have made 2004 a favorite of many Rhône-lovers, with similarly gentle structure, good balance and noteworthy freshness. Where 2006 holds an edge is in the fruit department. I found more up-front, pliant and flat-out sweet fruit in the 2006s I tried than in the same producers’ 2004s,and the tannins are usually more deftly woven into the wines. Most 2006s will appeal to impatient drinkers who cannot defer gratification and enjoy drinking plump, sweet, juicy wines that are unencumbered by youthful tannins and noticeable acidity.” -Tanzer

Jean-Marie converted his vineyards to Agriculture Biologique in 1999. They don’t use pesticides, or chemical fertilizers and they do everything in a Bio fashion including hand harvesting. Very importantly, they use only natural yeasts for fermentation. This not only reflects their deep desire to protect the environment but also allows the maximum natural expression of terroir.

Get your stew pot bubbling and your corkscrew twisting. The 2006s, particularly this Hautes Cances Cotes du Rhone will make you want seconds of everything! These wines are powerful, knee-deep in black fruits and so beautifully balanced.

I don’t think I know any grower who puts more effort into their wines than this familial pair from the southern Rhone. They pretty much work themselves to the bone, but the wines are fabulous! And, the prices are so amazingly reasonable.

Jean-Marie and Anne-Marie work out of a modest house in the middle of the village of Cairanne. Anne-Marie’s great grandparents created the property in 1890. The land passed down through the family until it came to Anne-Marie. When she inherited the property she was already ensconced in a medical career as was her husband, Jean-Marie.

Jean-Marie decided to give up his medical career to farm the family vineyards and vinify his own wine, which at the time was being sold off in bulk to the Cairanne cooperative. They named it Domaine les Hautes Cances which means the end of the vines where the tractor turns around.

After making the Biodynamique leap, Jean-Marie then built a new winemaking facilty into the hillside for natural temperature control. His vinification is done using gravity to protect the grapes along their journey into the vat. The place is absolutely eat-off-the-floor pristine. Jean-Marie has a singular passion when it comes to winemaking and it shows in his wine.

The Cotes du Rhone vines average about 50 years old (very old for Cotes du Rhone where they are usually torn out younger to get better yields). The vineyard is near the village of Rasteau. The soil is the magic hillside clay-limestone that drains from the top and yet harbors water deep in the earth to nourish the vines during times of drought, which are frequent in the southern Rhone. The cepage is: 34% Syrah, 19% Grenache, 19% Carignan, 15% Cinsault, 13% Mourvedre.

There is severe selection in the vineyard so only the ripest and most comely grapes make it to the vat. Jean-Marie uses a modest amount of older Gigondas barrels for aging this wine. He does not fine or filter. When you have your first sips of this wine, swirl it around in your mouth and think about its richness and its length. There really is a clear difference between this wine and most other Cotes du Rhones out there. Cynthia Hurley