Famille Perrin Vinsobres Rouge Les Hauts de Julien - 2020

Vinsobres is one of the most beautiful Crus in the Southern Rhône.

The 2020 vintage in Southern Rhône was favoured by very good weather conditions, it is a generous vintage, both in terms of quality and quantity. Not as hot as in 2019, this year was very windy, throughout the growing cycle, with light rainfalls. After a fairly mild winter (one single episode of frost was noted during the night of March 24, but only the early ripening plots were very slightly affected). The spring was radiant, quite warm and very windy, which allowed the soils to preserve their freshness. Flowering began on May 18, under very healthy conditions. The good weather continued in June, July and August, with plenty heat but lower temperatures than in 2019, cool and humid nights and wind which continued to blow, preserving the freshness of the vines and maintaining perfect sanitary conditions for the grapes. The harvest, which was fairly early, therefore began under these very good conditions on August 26 with the white Côtes-du-Rhône and continued until the end of September with the Mourvèdre. September was warm at the beginning of the month and then more temperate, offering idyllic harvest conditions and allowed each plot to be harvested at perfect maturity. The harvest was very healthy with beautiful juicy and very ripe grapes, reasonable alcohol levels, good acidity and already a great balance. Yields are slightly higher than 2019 and the first tastings predict a very nice vintage.

The vineyard is located 40 km north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape at an altitude of 300m benefiting from a cool climate, perfect for Syrah. Les Hauts de Julien is made with grapes from an old plot of vines (around 90 years old) co-planted in Syrah and Grenache.

Quaternary alluvial stones on terraces.

The crop is harvested manually. Upon arrival in the cellars, the grapes are sorted, destemmed and vatted in oak casks. After maceration, fermentation starts and extraction is done by punching down and pumping over. Before the end of the alcoholic fermentation, the juices are drained into French oak barrels where they finish fermenting and remain to age for a year and a half.