
Château Viranel
Vinification at Château Viranel is really traditional - the family has been making wine here for several generations and the history of the property can be traced back to 1551 - yet they use one technique for the reds that we had not encountered before. It's called délèstages (rack and return): rather than just pumping the fermenting juice taken from the bottom of the tank over the top of the cap of grape solids, they empty the vat of all juice and then return all of the must over the cap. This has the effect of fully breaking up the cap instead of the wine gently finding the same old path back to the bottom of the vat, thus ensuring maximum extraction not only of colour but of soft tannins and wonderful flavours.
The white wines, too, are all little gems with the Viognier being a real feather in their cap. It retains great freshness, and aromatic intensity whilst managing to avoid being another example of the oily, overblown style so often encountered. All in all, the wines of Château Viranel are not only some of the finest of Saint-Chinian but of the entire Languedoc-Roussillon region. They offer exceptional value and we cannot recommend them highly enough.
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£13.95Château Viranel Arômes Sauvages
Château ViranelChateau Viranel Aromes Sauvages has a very expressive nose with notes of ripe black fruits, pepper, thyme, fennel, pine nuts and just a touch of mu...
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£8.95Château Viranel Saint-Chinian Tradition Blanc
Château ViranelChateau Viranel Saint-Chinian Tradition Blanc has a fruity, fresh and delicate nose dominated by citrus and lifted by notes of white flowers and ap...
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£14.15Château Viranel Viognier
Château ViranelChateau Viranel Viognier has a delicate nose with notes of white flowers and grapefruit. Suave and sophisticated on the palate with plenty of refre...
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£10.95Château Viranel Rendez-Vous
Château ViranelChateau Viranel Rendez-Vous shows attractive, sappy aromas of ripe red fruits. On the palate, Rendez-Vous is light-bodied, with snappy acidity, sof...
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£29.55Château Viranel Saint-Chinian Tradition Rouge Magnum
Château ViranelChateau Viranel Saint-Chinian Tradition Rouge: "Caramelised plum aromas fairly leap out of the glass, then a faint smell of farmyard in a not-unatt...
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