Lafage - Cayrol Old Vine Carignan 2020
Price: $27.99
Sale Price: $19.99
| Producer | Lafage |
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| Country | France |
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| Region | Languedoc-Roussillon |
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| Varietal | Carignan |
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| Vintage | 2020 |
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| Sku | 17711 |
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| Size | 750ml |
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“Readers will know that I'm rarely a fan of Carignan, so it's nice to be able to wholeheartedly recommend the 2020 IGP Côtes Catalanes Cayrol Vieilles Vignes de Carignan.” Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate
Well, if that isn’t a ringing endorsement!
I am a huge fan of Carignan. So much so that when I was about to buy a vineyard in Spain, pre-pandemic, the intention was to plant it mostly to Carignan.
I do agree it can be tricky, though. Carignan is what we call a “blending grape”, meaning winemakers like to use is small percentages toaccentuate certain aspects of a wine. Carignan typically, brings tannin, colorand acidity to a wine but requires a lot of work to bring out its best as avarietal. It’s often relegated to unsung-hero status in our favorite Rhones and Spanish Reds in the same way Monastrell rarely gets its due.
As you might expect, in the hands of winemaking genius Jean-Marc Lafage, Carignan is the shining star of this production. It will turn heads… and maybe convince you to buy a vineyard.
His work starts with high-altitude, 60+ year-old vines. The altitude and specific soil results in a more restrained expression of the normally high-octane grape. The age gives concentrated, robust fruit and heady aromatics, which are accentuated by a fascinating winemaking technique called cold maceration.
This “pre-soak” at low temperatures extracts the aromatic and flavor compounds from the skins before fermentation without the tannin, giving the winemaker more control over the overall tannic structure. Jean-Marc does a whole week of cold-soaking before doing a long, slow fermentation at around 77 degrees for a month.
This extended fermentation means concentrated flavors with incredibly well integrated tannins, wild aromas. Loads of red fruit like raspberries and strawberries, plus little hints of anise and garrigue, make this an absolute joy to drink. It’s fresh and full-bodied with some of the smoothest tannin I’ve ever encountered. But don’t let its fun nature fool you- just because the this is wildly fun doesn’t mean it isn’t a serious food pairing wine!
Wine Advocate: 91 Points
“It's 100% Carignan, vinified with 30% whole clusters and refreshed with 15% of the following vintage, yet it delivers impressive quality, with briary, garrigue-laced notions of purple raspberries. It's medium to full-bodied, framed by sturdy, firm tannins and crisp acids, yet finishes silky and long.”
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