Domaine of the Bee The Bee-Side Grenache 2021

Domaine of the Bee The Bee-Side Grenache 2021

Varieties

Grenache

 

Region

Roussillon

Alcohol

14.3%

 

Drinking Window

2020 - 2025

Description

The Bee-Side is our second label wine, made from 100% Grenache. – most of the grapes come from our Bac de Genievres and Coume de Roy vineyards, and The Bee-side also includes some fruit from some of Jean-Marc Lafage’s vines. The result is a wine with a harmonious blend of delicate yet expressive red fruits with hints of fennel and rosemary.

Eyes

A cheerful cherry red.

Nose

Bright cherry and raspberry 'fruit compote' notes with a touch of local herbs. A hint of vanilla oak is evident from one new oak barrel out of 4 barrels used.

Mouth

This year's Bee-side is savory and rich, with a gentle fruit compote nose, a warming, easy-going palate, and gentle clove spice, livened with a twist of pithy tannin and juicy acidity. A highly drinkable red, especially if served lightly chilled.

Body

medium

Winemaking Notes

Our grapes were hand harvested, and then hand-sorted at the winery but the crop was healthy, and very little selection was needed. Our Grenache was emptied into upturned demi-muids (500L barrels) with the ends taken out. Some of the barrels picked after the rain was 'bled' to remove a small amount of juice, which was amalgamated to create one barrel of a very pale red. Around 50% of the barrels were fermented with 'whole bunches', and the rest were destemmed. The barrels were gently macerated in the cool of a refrigerated container, before being warmed up, inoculated with yeast, and gently punched down 2-3 times a day. After pressing the wine was drained into 500 L barrels, one new, and the others 1-4 years old, and aged for 18 months. We blended three of these barrels with the barrel of 'pale red' and a little bit of Jean-Marc's fine old vine Grenache to produce this year's Bee-side.

Growing Conditions

After a cool start to the year, a heat spike in May ensured a good flowering, and then a long dry period in July, August, and September meant that we harvested a good yield of lovely ripe grapes in early October, and our last block from the Coume de Roy picked a few days after the first rain, but just before the heavens opened on the 14th October.