El Carner Rouge VdF 2023

Wine description for El Carner VdF rouge 2023 by Matassa

Colour & appearance

Bright, fairly transparent cherry red with a slight haze — a wine that openly displays its unfiltered nature.

Nose

Lush red fruit: sweet cherries, cherry drops, ripe red berries and red peaches. Beneath lies a subtle hint of herbs and an animal note that lends depth to the whole.

Palate

Dry, with a texture like fine sandpaper — rough enough to captivate, gentle enough to delight. A lively acidity carries the ripe red fruit, while a touch of carbon dioxide gives the wine vibrancy. At 10.5% alcohol, a red of refreshing lightness.

Finish

The grainy tannin texture remains pleasantly present, the fruit fading cleanly. A finish that calls for food.

Terroir & origin

The El Carner plot lies in the hills around Calce in Roussillon, where Tom Lubbe works on schist and marl soils. Surrounded by Mediterranean maquis, wild rosemary and cedar trees, vines grow here that translate minerality into the glass.

Grape variety & vinification

An unusual blend of 60% Grenache Gris and 40% Macabeo — grey and white berries that together produce a red wine. After several days of semi-carbonic maceration with whole bunches, the wine was pressed, fermented further in ceramic eggs and aged there for eight months. Bottled without added sulphur and unfiltered.

Food recommendations

The distinctive texture demands substance: a roast beef sandwich with pickles and melting cheese, a tomato tarte tatin with olives and thyme, or harissa chicken skewers with tomato salad. Serve lightly chilled.

Special features

A red wine made from grey and white grapes — that alone makes El Carner a rarity. Add to this the low alcohol level of 10.5%, which reflects Tom Lubbe’s creed of freshness: while Roussillon often favours power, he opts for elegance. Since 2015, not a drop of sulphur has entered his cellar.