Maison Brotte celebrates Rusticity and Honesty in this Saint-Joseph with a deep mauve colour and raspberry rim. The nose offers up intense aromas of black fruit and pepper, underpinned by roasted notes. Its elegant tannins reveal notes of raspberries and blackcurrants with waves of spice on the finish. Tannic when young, it will require 2 to 3 years of cellar-ageing to fully develop its potential.

“Marandy”: A tribute to the name and character of Maison Brotte’s original Saint Joseph cuvée, which came from a lieu-dit of the same name (1970s). This delicate, fresh and fruity wine was already being produced and sold in the 16th century. At one time, Saint-Joseph, which was known as the “Wine of Mauves”, was much appreciated by the kings of France and by Victor Hugo who spoke highly of it in Les Misérables.

Appearance  – Dark ruby hue with purplish tints.

Nose –Intense and complex. In its early youth, the nose is fresh with black fruit, camphor, mint and violet aromas. After two to three years of cellar-ageing, lovely jammy black fruit and spice dominate the first nose, which then goes on to develop clove, coffee bean, venison and smoky notes.

Palate – When young, the wine is fresh and well-structured with a few typical Syrah notes: blackberries and blackcurrant buds. After a little cellar-ageing, the palate becomes broader and the finish much longer.

LOCATION

The Saint-Joseph AOC extends over nearly 50 km on the right bank of the river Rhône, in the Loire and Ardèche departments.

TERROIR

The vines are mostly planted on steep slopes and the soil is made up of a light schist and gneiss over a granite bedrock. The climate is hot and dry in the summer and temperate in the other seasons. Syrah finds its perfect balance in this terroir as the poor soils result in lower yields and enable all the potential complexity of this magnificent grape variety to be expressed.

VINIFICATION & AGEING

The grapes are destemmed and then crushed. After a short cold maceration, the alcoholic fermentation is carried out in concrete or stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 26-28°C (relatively low temperatures which allows us to preserve as much fruit as possible). Daily pumping over operations, and occasionally some rack and return, are carried out during this period. After malolactic fermentation in vat, the wine is aged in 100-year-old oak foudres for 6 to 12 months.

SERVING

Serve at 16°C.

FOOD PAIRINGS

Enjoy with grilled lamb, Rosette de Lyon or pigeon with truffles. After some cellar-ageing, this wine will pair perfectly with an Avignon-style Caillette, a terrine of venison or hare, dried duck breast, ravioles with porcini mushrooms and foie gras, a daube from the Comtat Venaissin (with spices), a navarin of lamb or some Rigotte du Forez cheese.

Name: Marandy
Brand: Brotte – Les Crus
Classification: AOC Saint-Joseph
Type: Red
Region: Northern Rhône Valley (France)
Grape Varieties: 100% Syrah