Jeb Dunnuck has tasted our vintage 2019, see below his tasting notes and rewards :
94+/100 Ascensio red 2018, AOC Ventoux
" One of the deeper colored wines in the lineup, this deep purple/ruby-hued beauty boasts a captivating bouquet of smoked black fruits, black olive tapenade, ground pepper, spring flowers, and black licorice. Hitting the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, it’s one serious 2018 that would stand up to just about anything out there in a blind lineup. With building tannins, a great mid-palate, and a layered, lengthy finish, it has plenty of upfront charm, yet I suspect 1-2 years of bottle age are warranted here, and it should evolve gracefully for 10-12 years, if not longer."
93-95/100 Silica red 2019, AOC Ventoux
" The Grenache-dominated (90% Grenache and 10% Cinsault) 2019 Ventoux Silica is a beautiful wine that just screams cool-climate Grenache with its more ruby, almost translucent color as well as perfumed red fruits, spicy, floral, and gamey aromatics, more medium-bodied richness, and flawless overall balance. Reminding me of a grand cru Burgundy with its seamless texture as well as outstanding length, it’s going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and drink brilliantly over the following decade."
94/100 Quintessence white 2019, AOC Ventoux
" A smaller production cuvée made from 80% Roussanne and 20% Clairette that was fermented and aged in oak, the 2019 Ventoux Quintessence Blanc is a deeper, richer wine, with beautiful notes of buttered stone fruits, white flowers, toasted spice, and a touch of earthy garrigue. Beautiful on the palate as well, it’s medium to full-bodied and has plenty of mid-palate depth followed by a great finish. It’s drinking nicely today, yet as with a number of whites from this terrific estate, it’s going to age gracefully as well, and I wouldn’t put a solid decade or more of prime drinking past it."
92-94/100 Artemia 2019, AOC Ventoux
" The 2019 Ventoux Artemia is also brilliant. Checking in as an even split of Grenache and Syrah, it reveals a medium ruby/purple color as well as a beautiful perfume of black raspberry and wild strawberry-like fruits intermixed with lots of peppery garrigue, flowery incense, and a distinct sense of minerality. Playing in the medium to full-bodied end of the spectrum, it has silky tannins, a wonderful sense of minerality, and outstanding length on the palate. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following decade as well."
91/100 Edition 1912M 2019, AOC Ventoux (Pesquié)
" Moving to the reds and starting with the 2019 Ventoux Edition 1912M, this Grenache-dominated red comes from higher elevation sites and always has a cooler climate, fresher, more lively style. Revealing a pretty nose of ripe cherries, sappy garrigue, and spring flowers, it has a wonderful sense of minerality, medium-bodied richness, terrific elegance on the palate, and outstanding length. It’s well worth checking out. You can drink it today, but it will also evolve for a solid 8-9 years, if not longer, and I think this wine sells for a song, so that’s saying something."
92-94/100 Quintessence red 2019, AOC Ventoux
"Moving to the smaller production cuvées, the Syrah-dominated 2019 Ventoux Quintessence reveals a deeper ruby/plum color followed by a beautiful bouquet of smoked red and black fruits, gamey herbs, spring flowers, and an almost forest floor-like character. With considerable elegance on the palate, medium to full-bodied richness, and silky yet building tannins, this is straight-up classy stuff. It will benefit from a year or three of bottle age and drink nicely for a solid decade."
91+/100 Cuvée Juliette white 2019, AOC Ventoux
" Moving to the 2019 Ventoux Cuvée Juliette Blanc, which is based largely on Clairette blended with 30% Grenache Blanc, this wine has a more exotic, almost tropical bouquet of dried pineapple, coconut milk, white flowers, and sappy garrigue. These all carry to a medium-bodied white that has wonderful purity of fruit, a good spine of acidity, more moderate mid-palate concentration, and a great finish. The balance here is spot on, I like its freshness, and it’s going to evolve gracefully for at least 10-12 years. I suspect this should hit prime time in another year or two."
91/100 Terrasses red 2019, AOC Ventoux
" A wine that has almost always ranked high on my top value list over the past decade or more, the 2019 Ventoux Terrasses offers a slightly deeper, richer style than the Edition 1912M, with plenty of black cherry and redcurrant fruits intermixed with more peppery garrigue, earth, and a touch of meatiness. More medium-bodied, lively, and beautifully textured, with silky tannins, it’s another no-brainer red that would be one hell of a house red. You can enjoy bottles today or safely cellar them for upwards of a decade. I recently finished a case of the 2005 that was still going strong, so this wine has plenty of longevity."
91/100 Terrasses white 2019, AOC Ventoux
" Starting with the 2019 Ventoux Terrasses Blanc from this leading estate in the Ventoux, this beauty has a fresh, more lively, vibrant style, which makes sense given that this estate is located in the Ventoux appellation, at a higher elevation and with cooler limestone soils. Notes of honeyed peach, sauteed lime, a touch of salty minerality, and plenty of white flowers all emerge from this terrific white, which is medium-bodied and offers bright acidity along with a juicy, saliva-inducing finish. It’s ideal for drinking over the coming 2-3 years, although in this case, I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see it keep longer."