Julien Barrot, of Domaine la Barroche, is the most exciting young winemaking talent in the southern Rhône. Best known for his much-lauded cuvée “Pure,” one of the most seductive expressions of Grenache there is, Julien has propelled the Domaine into the top echelons of Châteauneuf production.
Julien completed his winemaking course in Montpellier he backpacked around the vineyards of France and Australia, thirsty for knowledge and eager to expand his experiences. He came back and joined his father in 2002, more convinced than ever of the importance of terroir. Julien's enthusiasm and passion rubbed off on his father and together they agreed to release the first Domaine-bottled wines in the 2003 vintage. For thirty years previously Julien's father Christian had been working the vineyards and making wine but selling it off in bulk to local merchants. Though Christian is still around to lend advice, he entrusted the entire Domaine to Julien as of the 2006 vintage. The estate is small, encompassing 12 ha, and is planted to the traditional varieties including Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, Terret Noir and Clairette. The average age of the vines is 60 years old and one third of the vineyard is more than 100 years old (Grenache.) Grapes are hand-picked, wines are fermented in concrete vat and aged in a mixture of large old wooden foudres and smaller oak barrels. The former for Grenache the latter for Syrah and Mourvèdre. The wine is handled gently, everything is done by gravity, and extractions are gentle. This has rapidly become a stellar Domaine.
Read More“Pure” is a ravishingly sensual wine that hails from a plot of 100 year old vines planted on the sandy soils of the confluence of the Grand Pierre, Pointu and Rayas sectors, found on the way to Courthezon from Châteauneuf du Pape. The wine is bottled without filtration after 18 months ageing in large oak foudres.
Supply is very limited, rarely more than 4000 bottles are made each year, so the wine will be sold on allocation. Please contact us for further details. The wine is abroad and being shipped in Autumn 2018.