Friday, May 18, 2018

Grenache - but not as we know it!


At Domaine Jones, we’re not afraid to do things differently and we don’t mind standing out from the crowd.  We do not follow trends, we start them, and I know we have raised an eyebrow or two in the village by turning something of an underdog grape into a Crufts champion!

You may remember that a couple of years ago I bought a vineyard planted with Lledoner Pelut - aka Hairy Grenache - so called because of the soft down on its leaves.  In 2015 we tried making the wine - you can read about it here:

A short back and sides for the hairy grenache
A history of the Lledoner Pelut in Tuchan

but after the harvest, I went rather quiet as we were disappointed with the results.  Last year we thought we'd have another go but we did it differently.

We have also let our imagination run wild and created a unique label with a quirky cartoon style that wraps around the bottle and really does tell a story.

So, what does it taste like then? Well, as you might imagine, it is close in style and flavour profile to its more mainstream cousin, but in general makes for a paler coloured red wine, but still with plenty of fruit and a lighter structure. Some say as it ages (we are yet to see)  there is a hint of Burgundian Pinot Noir about it. 

There is not much Lledoner Pelut around at all and my 1000 bottles were snapped up as quickly as you can say Hairy Grenache.  I do have a couple of cases put to one side for members of the Domaine Jones Wine Club and visitors to the Domaine.  But I'm getting back out into that vineyard to start combing those leaves for next years vintage.