Domaine Marcel Richaud, "Primeur" 2021

In the southern Rhône, there is an eponymous appellation in the larger Côtes-du-Rhône growing area, so-named for the village that has long housed its most esteemed name: Cairanne, where Domaine Marcel Richaud has for many years produced some of the best sans soufre expressions of native Southern Rhône varieties. In a land historically dedicated to “noble” wines (Pope wines! A la Chateauneuf-du-Pape), there had been a kind of hierarchy set up whereby local cooperatives outside of the crus bought the vast majority of the grapes, organically grown or otherwise, providing solid financial exchange if leaving the region relatively bereft of Vignerons Independants. Well, at merely ~19 years of age, entered Marcel Richaud who, taking on some amount of the family’s vines/grapes, decided to forego the co-op route and vinify as a family estate. His father thought he was crazy; however, in the early-mid ‘90s, the burgeoning vin natur scene in Paris fell madly in love with Marcel’s wines. The rest could be said to be history – a long-time producer of low-intervention gems from typical grape varieties of the region, Domaine Marcel Richaud is now run by his three children Thomas, Claire, & Edith and is still a super-reliable name when it comes to enjoying a bottle of something honest, delicious, & time-tested.

A Beaujolais tradition via the Rhône. This is a nouveau-style blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented using carbonic maceration, then gently crushed and bottled early. Unfined, unfiltered with no SO2.