France – Château Miraval Rouge 2013

Domaine and vineyard

The “Château Miraval”, is located in the village of Correns in the Var department in the south of France. It is nowadays worldwide known for being the French residence of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who, with the supervision of the famous wine-maker Marc Perrin produce here their wines.

The overall extension of the domaine is 400 hectares of which 30 hectares on the valley floor are devoted to vines. The château is known for its wines, white wines under the Coteaux Varois appellation and red, white and rosé wine under the Côtes de Provence appellation.

The immense wine cellar of Miraval was built in 1850 by Joseph Lombot, the inventor of reinforced concrete, who owned the nearby domaine of La Celle.

The whole site lies on the remains of a pre Roman settlement. A previous owner, the French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier, installed a recording studio in the château: Sting recorded there, as did the Cranberries and Pink Floyd laid down tracks for The Wall album, released in 1979. Its more recent American owner, Tom Bove, who bought the domaine in 1993 and has modernized its viticulture, which had been producing simple vin de pays.

The wine

The Miraval Rouge is a strong wine made from syrah to which are added Grenache grapes (in an unknown percentage). The Syrah comes from parcels of clay-limestone terroir at an average altitude of 350 meters above sea level.

Little else is known about the production of this wine since it does not much more information are available on the website of the Perrin family (conductors of Miraval estate for wine production). The MIRAVAL Rouge it is produced in extremely limited quantities and to obtain it is not that easy.

Tasting Note

Date	24 January 2016
Wine name	MIRAVAL ROUGE	Vintage	2013
Nation	France	Region	Provence
AOC-DOC	//	Grape Varieties	90-95% Syrah 5-10% Grenache
Serving temperature	16-17° C	Alcohol	13,5
Price (in euro)	19	SO2 (in mg/l)	Nd

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Weak
Color	Purple red	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quiet consistent	Soft sensations	Quite Warm, Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Scarcely Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Scarcely Intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavours	Red Fruits
Aroma intensity	Quite Intense
Complexity	Scarcely Complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite Persistent
Quality	Quite Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Red fruits,	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food and wine pairing

Red meat grilled or in sauce and game are recommended combinations.

I was quite disappointed with this wine. Look for information on the web is almost impossible, and often get conflicting versions. To make peace with all the commentators, I tasted at different temperatures but no changes worthy of note. The wine glass is an honest meal or even better as an aperitif preferable to white or rosé in the winter months. And if thought in this way I can see the reason for its existence. And none of this, if not the glamor, justifies the price.

The wine is produced in very limited edition and not sold on the Perrin family website. They are working, in my point of view, to improve it year after year.

Official website: www.miraval-provence.com