Vidal Fleury Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2019 / 2021
Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Rhone Valley
Grape Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan
Climate: Continental climate with hot summers, cool autumns and winters
Terroir: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignan grapes are grown in shallow soils made up primarily of clay, stones and sand. Vineyards are primarily on hillsides with an average of 150-250 meters in elevation
Winemaking: Grapes are harvested and transported to the winery in small crates. Fermentation occurs with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks with the maceration period lasting approximately two weeks. The wine is aged on its lees with 70% in tank and 30% in large oak barrels. The finished wine is lightly filtered and fined followed by a minimum of 3 months in the bottle prior to release
Color: Ruby red
Nose: Aromas dominated by notes of cocoa, cherries, and spice
Palate: Bold with blackcurrant, cherry, and roasted nut flavours
About the Winery:
Founded in 1781, Vidal-Fleury is the Rhône Valley’s oldest continuing grower/négociant firm. Thomas Jefferson’s visit in 1787 was its first contact with the United States; he called the wines “justly celebrated”.
During the 1890s, Gustave Vidal married a daughter of the Fleury family. Thanks to her dowry, they replanted the vineyard following the phylloxera outbreak. Then, in the 1920s, the House took an interest in other wine-growing regions throughout the Rhône Valley.
In 1984, Ets. Guigal acquired the company. This step was a logical continuation for the Vidal-Fleury and Guigal families, who had always worked together. Indeed, Etienne Guigal (Marcel’s father) was hired as a vine grower and cellar master by Joseph Vidal-Fleury in 1924. When the Vidal-Fleury family decided to sell the House, as none of its heirs felt like taking over the reins, it naturally turned to the Guigal family. As a result, the company remains family-run. Vidal-Fleury is managed in absolute independence with its own winemaking, logistics and commercial team.
In 2006 Vidal-Fleury began investing to modernize its winery facilities, installing state-of-the-art technology; in 2008, it built a new cellar specifically dedicated to maturing the wines. In addition, Vidal-Fleury’s vineyards are overseen with 100% self-sustaining management practices.
Long considered one of the most respected producers in the Rhône Valley, Vidal-Fleury carries on under the watchful management of Head Winemaker Guy Sarton du Jonchay.
