Heureux qui comme… VdF 2019

Heureux qui comme ..., is the name of the Carignan of the Domaine. And this is the beginning of a sonnet by Joachim Du Bellay, very famous in France, whose first line is "Heureux qui comme Ulysse a fait un beau voyage," meaning "Happy is he who, like Ulysses, has made a beautiful journey," and it additionally refers to a chanson by George Brassens, who was born and buried in nearby Sète. The name and image refer to the happiness Florian and Paola feel when they stand on the hilltop and look out over their small property with its vines, aromatic and medicinal plants, forest and fields. The wine so named is a 100 %iger Carignan from a vineyard with vines around 40 years old. The vineyard is located in a sheltered valley at around 90 metres. The Carignan has a very long ripening phase there and is harvested last. The vineyard is characterized by yellow and blue limestone marl, sandstone, river pebbles and many fossils. After hand-harvesting and largely destemming, the wine was fermented spontaneously. The maceration lasted about two weeks. The wine was regularly recirculated, the marc cap was punched down, and the wine was aged for ten months in used barriques and bottled unfined and unfiltered with a total of 27 mg of sulfur.

deep purple

The 2019s Heureux qui comme... is from the first moment a fragrant, intense and inviting wine. It quickly finds the balance of a rich black and red fruit as well as a cool vein. Purple flowers and the scent of freshly wetted dry wood set the stage, followed by blackberries and cherries, earth and rock, black cardamom and a hint of cinnamon.

On the palate, the Carignan is enormously charming and offers its open flank almost with relish. It tastes intensely and juicily of Amarena cherries, of fresh sour and black cherries, where the ripe juice splashes through the area when pitting. Added here are cool stony and ethereal notes of a hint of mint and garrigue.