Domaine Les Alexandrins - Saint-Joseph - 2019

4 hectares, weathered granite. "Galets roulés".
Vineyards located in the municipality of Tournon-sur-Rhône.
Average age of the vines: 25 years.
South/south-east exposure.

After the hail damage of 2019, we had to nurse our vineyards back to health with a range of gentle but complementary nutrients. This made 2020 a technically exacting year, especially since the weather reserved many surprises for us. Spring was extraordinarily hot and dry and, despite a short break in June when some welcome rain fell, summer saw a continuation of drought conditions right up until the harvest. With a high risk of mildew at the start of the season, constant and unpredictable winds, powdery mildew half way through the season and the threat of high temperatures and scorching, we were spared nothing, and it required a major effort to cope. Fortunately, the occasional shower, fairly cool nights and morning dew meant the vines did not suffer too much from the summer heat, and all our hard work seems to have paid off with the promise of a fine vintage. To avoid the hottest moments of the day, we began picking from 6 am so as to pick the grapes while they were cool. We began with the whites on August 19 and continued with the reds through until September 16. First tastings revealed aromatic wines of great freshness, with degrees rarely exceeding 13.5°. After so many twists and turns, it is a vintage that reverts to origin in a very “Northern Rhône” style, after the mediterranean vintage of 2018 and 2019.

Manual harvest.
Traditional vinification.
Destemming 100%.
Maceration 3 days cold.
Two pumpover and two punch down / day.
Fermentation 20 days.
Ageing in 1 and 2-years-old barrels for 15 months.