Vinsobres AOP Flashcards
Maximum Yield (Rendement de Base)
38 hl/ha
AOC Established
2006
Élevage
Wines may not be released before March 31 of the year following the harvest
Minimum Potential Alcohol
12.5%
Assemblage
Min. 50% Grenache, and at least one complementary variety must be present in the blend.
Styles and Encépagement
Rouge:
Principal Variety: Min. 50% Grenache
Complementary Varieties: Mourvèdre and Syrah (min. 25% combined Mourvèdre and Syrah; min. 80% combined Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah)
Accessory Varieties: Max. 20% combined Bourboulenc, Brun Argenté, Carignan, Cinsault, Clairette, Clairette Rosé, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Counoise, Marsanne, Muscardin, Piquepoul Blanc, Piquepoul Noir, Roussanne, Terret Noir, Ugni Blanc and Viognier (max. 5% white varieties)
Syrah and Mourvèdre may account for a min. 20% until the 2016 harvest
Commune of Production
Vinsobres
Table chat about Vinsobres
Fresh and fleshy, Vinsobres offers up an accomplished jigsaw of oak trees, hillsides, plateaux and little islands with delightful, protective shade.
“Vinsobres or sober wine, drink it soberly”: this was the motto of Monseigneur de Suarès (bishop of Vaison and a staunch fan of these wines) in 1633, describing this Cru from Drôme Provençal, a wine that is as balanced as it is aromatic. Passionately cultivated by young winemakers that brought with them new ideas from their travels, Vinsobres wines owe their richness to the assembly of the qualities of richly varied, complementary terroirs. The appellation’s soil here are very stony, red to brown in colour, and their warmth allows the vines to flourish early with a high concentration of grapes. Made mainly of Grenache and Syrah, they produce dark red wines with a complex, harmonious nose with spiced flavours that are suitable for ageing.
Grapes in Vinsobres
The Côte du Rhône’s traditional grape, Grenache, represents 72.34% of plantations in the area.
Syrah, a variety that is particularly successful on the cooler plots, represents 18.23%.
Vinsobres balanced wines present silky, elegant tannins, guaranteeing excellent ageing. Fat, round, and long in the mouth, they are generous and full… They give aromas of fresh and cooked fruits. The young wines contain notes of cherry and blackcurrant, evolving into Morello cherry and blackcurrant jam, pepper, herbs, and spices.
History
A fiefdom of the Montaubans, the dauphins, the Princes of Orange and Urre, Vinsobres was first settled by the Romans.The name Vinsobres comes from Vinzobrio, the oldest recorded version form from 1137.It comes from the pre-Celtic vintio (height), and the Celtic suffix briga (mountain).
In 1633, Joseph Marie de Suarès spoke the motto that is today used by all of the terroir’s winemakers:”Wine sober or sober wine, drink it soberly”. Until 2006 the appellation was part of Côtes du Rhône Villages, when Vinsobres red wine became the first local appellation of Côtes du Rhône in Drôme Provençal.
Geography
The appellation covers a mere 5 miles of hillside in Vinsobres, in Drômes Provençal.
Geography
The appellation covers a mere 5 miles of hillside in Vinsobres, in Drômes Provençal.
Climate
Climate with a Mediterranean influence. Summers are hot and dry owing to the high latitude and subtropical anticyclones, and are peppered with occasional violent storms. Vinsobres receives a very high amount of sunshine.
Overview of Vinsobres
Vinsobres is an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for red wine in the southern part of the Rhône wine region of France, situated around Vinsobres.
Vinsobres was previously a part of the Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC. On 17 February 2006, it was created as a separate AOC, and therefore received the status of a “Rhône Cru”. The wines must contain at least 50% Grenache and 25% Syrah and/or Mourvèdre.[1]
Historically, this area has a strong tradition in olive cultivation, and some current vineyards have been converted from growing olives.
Soils
Facing north-east and south-west, and reaching up over 500m, the terroir of the Vinsobres hills is characterized by an enormous diversity of soil: their potential and rich character provide all of the wine’s complexity, and their complementary nature produces harmonious wines. Vinsobres is characterized by a distribution of classes with a homogeneous altitude, from 184m to 509m, for an average height of 329m.
The AOC’s terroir is found between Valréas Miocene sedimentary basin, and that of Aygues basin - the Mediterranean mountain stream that is millions of years old, carrying large clastic rocks from the Alpine slopes.
Four types of soil lie atop each other… Between 10m and 50m above the bed of the Aygues, the terroir is made up of moderately sloped shelves or hillsides. Then between 230m and 260m, 260m and 350m, and above 350m: the high hillsides that dominate the alluvial sections are composed of Mid- and Upper Miocene deposits.
These marls, or sandy marine and continental marls, are crowned with marls and Miocene conglomerates that are especially rich in base elements. These elements were cut, and then packed during the Pliocene period by conglomerate marls to the north-east of the village. The summits of the hills are made of very stony plateaus.
Production surface area
441 hectares
