2019 Chateau Simone Palette Rouge

Within the trio and serving as an equal, rather than dominant, partner to the striking rosé and the sublime white, the Château Simone’s Rouge is both feisty and elegant. Like the rosé, it is a blend primarily of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Cinsault but there are pockets of old-growth vines of Syrah, Manosquin, Castet, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Muscat Noir that season the vineyards and add to the stunning complexity of these wines. The influence of Mont Sainte Victoire, its surface covered in rich pine forest, is apparent in the flavors and aromas of the red wine of Simone, making it one of the finest and most enchanting experiences in all of wine. The Rougier’s are renowned for bottling beautifully elegant, floral, and aromatic reds that caress and finesse the palate rather than hammer it with alcohol and extract. Château Simone’s colorful palette of grapes are harvested by hand, de-stemmed, and lightly pressed before fermentation. An indigenous-yeast fermentation lasts for several weeks in wooden vats and the resulting wine is racked into large oak foudres to rest on lees. After one year, the wine is decanted once more into older barriques, where it rests for an additional year before being bottled. The freshly bottled wine then matures for another year before leaving their cellar. All told, the entire process takes nearly four years before release into the US market! This current 2019 release fills the glass with intense, heady aromas of wild plums, black raspberry liqueur, dried black cherry, and currant followed with crushed stone, garrigue, smoked herbs, leather, meat, and cracked pepper. The palate delivers weighty and layered dark fruit flavor with a lush and broad mouthfeel yet not sacrificing its lean muscularity. Once opened, hour by hour, the wine finds a depth and complexity that leaves one’s head shaking in wonder! This is a dazzling, multi-dimensional, region-defining Provençal Grand Cru tailor-made for lovers of traditional Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Piedmont with potential for a never-ending cellar life! A treasure indeed it is!