Vindemiatrix VdF 2022 1500ml Magnum

Wine Description for Vindemiatrix VdF 2022 1500ml Magnum by Georg Meissner

Colour & Appearance

Lightly transparent purple – translucent, vibrant, without any heaviness. A wine that lays its cards on the table.

Nose

If there is an archetypal Carignan bouquet, it rises from this glass. Leading the charge is a dense, almost liqueur-like sour cherry – cerise pure – flanked by mulberries and blackberries. Beneath shimmer notes of yeast, bresaola and garrigue, along with black olive tapenade and the mineral crackle of crushed dark stone. Complex, yet never overloaded.

Palate

On the palate the fruit positively explodes – crisp, fresh, juicy. The acidity is vibrant and precise, the tannin grippy, yet never rough. All three elements are densely interwoven and carry a finely honed texture. Clear, direct, unadulterated: Carignan as it should be.

Finish

Long and spicy, with lingering cherry fruit and a mineral aftertaste that recalls the rocky subsoil of the vineyards. Not a gram of fat, no compromises.

Terroir & Origin

The vines grow on a terrace in Roussillon, surrounded by stone walls, bare rock and forest – a landscape that hardly suggests vineyards at all. Originally destined for clearance, the parcels were rescued by Georg Meissner. The yields are vanishingly low at around 9 hl/ha – a concentration you can taste in the glass.

Grape Variety & Vinification

Pure Carignan, planted in 1899 – so over 120 years old vines whose roots grip deep into the rock. The wine’s name, Vindemiatrix, refers to the star Epsilon Virginis, whose appearance the Romans once tied to the beginning of the vintage. This historical reference is no marketing gimmick, but programmatic: here work is done with respect for time and nature. The magnum bottle promises particularly harmonious maturation.

Food Pairing Suggestions

A wine for the table, not for the cellar. Excellent with grilled lamb, braised wild duck or a rustic cassoulet. Equally convincing with charcuterie from southern France or a robust sheep’s cheese from Roussillon.

Special Features

Old vines from 1899, rescued vineyards, a winemaker driven by passion rather than calculation – and all of this in a 1.5-litre magnum that gives this wine the time it deserves. An authentic document of southern French terroir that is second to none.