L'Extrême Blanc 2023

Extrême Blanc is one of these wines which left me speechless during the tasting session. How beautiful is Grenache Gris when you give it the leading role ?

Made from 124 years old Grenache vines and aged in old oak barrels, the wine features a deeply seducing golden hue. The tightly wound palate opens to notes of dried apricots, candied lemon, buddha's hand lime peel, oven baked red apples and gingerbread that would have been perfumed with Calvados liquor from Normandy. As if it wasn't enough, you get offered a complex and long finish that is both saline and rich. Rare and beautiful.
I recommend to decant it. Huge ageing potential.
17,5/20 Jancis Robinson.

Region: Côtes Catalanes
Grape: Grenache gris 60%, Grenache blanc 25%, Grenache noir 15%
Alcohol: 13,2%
Total SO2: 25 mg/L
Service: 10/12°C.
For: 🦪🦞🦐🦀🐠🧀

Tech facts: 

Yield: 8 hl/ha !

Vinification: Basket pressed and cold settled, before spontaneous fermentation in 2nd year 225L barrique and 5th year 500L barrels. Ageing in 3rd year barrique, 5th-year barrels and stainless steel with extended solids contact. No fining, bottled with light filtration.

Terroir: 1ha schistose marls on steep northeast facing slopes. 314-260m altitude. Mas de las Fredas, Vallée de l’Agly.

Vintage: A mild winter was followed by our third consecutive growing season
with below average rainfall. Very little disease pressures allowed us to focus on treating the vineyards and vines with compost tea and algae based foliar sprays. A cooler summer than 2022, reduced the effects of hydric stress. Early August electrical storms rained on some of our inland vines while our maritime vines missed out. A small crop that quickly reached maturity. Very small berries with good acid retention. Higher nitrogen levels in fruit allowed the clean ferments by the indigenous yeasts. Final wines
are concentrated and generous.