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Château Redortier, Red Blend, Beaumes-de-Venise

Southern Rhône, France 2012 (750mL)
$22.00
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Château Redortier, Red Blend, Beaumes-de-Venise

Before you lump all Grenache-based reds from the southern Rhône into the same ultra-ripe, syrupy category, try Château Rayas Châteaneuf-du-Pape. Or, for much, much less, try the wines of Château Redortier in nearby Beaumes-de-Venise. This is an absolute gem of a winery—and family—that has been producing exceptional red wines in this overlooked appellation for decades.
Even now, Beaumes-de-Venice is thought of primarily for sweet wines from Muscat, but the real story here is altitude, soil structure, and the role both play in shaping red wines of uncommon finesse. Based in the village of Suzette, in the shadow of the famed Dentelles de Montmirail, Château Redortier has been the standard-bearer of Beaumes-de-Venise since Etienne de Menthon first started planting vines here in the late-1950s. These days, his twin daughters, Isabelle and Sabine, are blessed with 50+-year-old Grenache and Syrah vines rooted in a patchwork of limestone, clay, schist, and sand, and they make the most of it: These are uniquely expressive, soulful wines that showcase the elegant side of Grenache, for a fraction of what you’d pay for the best examples from Châteauneuf. To me, this is a region-defining producer and a must-try for anyone who values a genuine sense of place in their wine, regardless of price point.
Beaumes-de-Venice borders Vacqueyras/Gigondas immediately to the east, climbing the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail, a small, jagged chain of mountains that effectively wall the area off from the north. Château Redortier’s 40 acres in Beaumes-de-Venise (they also have 12 in Gigondas) sit at around 1,400 feet elevation in a south-facing bowl that fans out beneath the Dentelles. Isabelle and Sabine de Menthon are dedicated to organic farming and walk their vineyards daily, continuing the work of Etienne, who was strictly a grape-grower for decades before establishing the winery in Suzette in 1981.
 
The approach to winemaking at Château Redortier is similarly hands-on and resolutely natural, with a focus almost exclusively on red wines (they don’t grow any Muscat, in fact). The de Menthons use only native yeasts to inoculate fermentations, which are carried out in concrete tanks; wines are aged in a mix of concrete and large, old, oak foudres. They also tend to hold their wines in bottle longer than most before releasing them. There’s a fiercely independent, beholden-to-no one feel to everything this family does, which is so appealing—especially given the value-for-dollar they deliver.
 
The Château Redortier 2012 Beaumes de Venise Rouge is 60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, and 5% Counoise from six vineyard parcels at the Suzette estate. In the glass it is a deep crimson moving to pink and orange at the rim, with a very perfumed nose of strawberry, raspberry, cherry kirsch, rose petals, dried herbs, and a hint of black pepper and licorice from the Syrah. The fruit is rich and bright without skewing syrupy, checked by frisky acid and some mild, dusty tannins lending grip. It feels very ‘Mediterranean’—brambly and floral, with a tangy, tomato-y quality and lots of energy. It is ready to drink now, silky and expansive after about a half-hour in a decanter; serve it in Burgundy stems at 60 degrees and enjoy it with all manner of Provençal dishes, or crack a bottle with a sausage-and fennel-studded pasta like the one in the attached recipe. It’s an evocative, authentic wine with just the right amount of rusticity. Don’t miss it!

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Country
France
Region
Southern Rhône
Sub-Region
FranceBeaumes-de-Venise
Soil
Clay, Limestone, Schist, and Gravel
Farming
Organic
Blend
60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 5% Counoise
Alcohol
14.0
OAK
Neutral French
TEMP.
60-65
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2020
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Orecchiette w/ Fennel & Sausage

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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