Chateau De La Gardine Chateauneuf Du Pape Cuvee Tradition Rouge is a wine that symbolises concentration. Its deep purple colour invites you into the nose of vivid dark fruits, exotic spices and cocoa aromas. There is a marriage of the power of liquorice to the delicacy of violets. There are plenty of silky tannins on the palate, giving structure to the meaty, dark fruit and indicating a bright future.
- Country: France
- Region: Rhône Valley
- Subregion: Châteauneuf Du Pape
- Vintage: 2020
- Colour: Red
- Grape Variety: Grenache/Garnacha, Mourvèdre/Monastrell, Syrah/Shiraz, Muscardin
- ABV: 15%
- Bottle Size: 75cl
- Closure: Natural cork
- Style: Concentrated and exemplary
- Drink With: Spiced breast of duck
Château De La Gardine's Cuvée Tradition red Châteauneuf Du Pape is grown in vineyards with four different soil types, each providing the wine with distinctive characters. Soils with many large, round, flat pebbles, known as "galets" give wines with body and structure; Urgonian limestone supplies balancing minerality; and brown soils and sandy soils produce wines of finesse and elegance. Portions of the wine are aged in stainless steel and old oak barriques for anywhere from nine to fourteen months.
About the grower
The winemaking history of the Brunel family dates back to the 17th century, although it wasn't until 1945 that Gaston Brunel, a famous négociant, acquired the Château De La Gardine in Châteauneuf Du Pape. The estate is now run by his two sons, Patrick and Maxime, with the help of their wives Eve and Maryse and their children Marie-Odile and Philippe and is spread over 52 hectares of vineyards (48ha of red and 4ha of white) and 20 hectares of forests. The estate is famous for both the quality of its wines and for the unique shape of the Gardine bottle.
The Gardine bottle, both original and elegant, is the result of a happy accident. When he first began to expand his cellar, Gaston Brunel found an old, mouth-blown glass bottle while digging in the ground. He loved it and decided to use a similar shape for all his wine. Initially, he had to go all the way to Italy to find a glass supplier able to copy its quirky shape, but since 1964 all of the Brunel family's wines have been bottled in the unique La Gardine shaped-bottle.