Maison Ventenac Les Dissidents Puritaine

Maison Ventenac Les Dissidents Puritaine

100% Syrah and declassified as Vin de France, this is part of the limited bottled ”Les Dissidents” range. Following a number of experiments, a whole instinctive range comprised of micro-cuvees and varietal wines, produced by the appellation, in truly exclusive, libertarian style. A limited number of bottles with a choice of what the winemaker believes to be the best varieties of soil, this unclassified range of French wine defies the institutions, their regulations and conventional wine.

Yield of just 30 hectoliters per hectare with non sulfite fermentation with indigenous yeasts and bio-protection (by using non saccharomyces yeasts to avoid brettanomyces.) Post fermentation maceration for 10 days at 38 degrees Celsius, malolactic fermentation, then 50% aging in 350 l terra cotta jars and 50% in 2000 hl barrel.

Tasting Notes

This smells like smoked topside with a wild-cherry glaze. On the palate, there is an incredibly fragrant lift of dried basil and pink peppercorns over a concentrated (but not heavy or over-extracted) core of black cherries, wild blackberries and elderberries. It has dark bitterness and char, but so tightly woven into the fruit that, like an artist daubs shadow into the light to make a painting come to three dimensional life, these elements make this wine step off the page.

Best served with: This could be a perfect pairing with smoked duck and a cherry-tarragon and Szechuan-pepper sauce.