Domaine Richaud Cairanne Les Estrambords

The wife surprised me with the suggestion of braised short ribs, so I opened the last Les Estrambords. Drinking very well, rich, Cairanne meets vintage Port. 15.5%, but that was in check by the wall of fruit. If you don’t like it, fine, send me your bottles. A nice visit, and always entertaining trip returning home thru customs. YUM

After Rabasse Charavin on Christmas Eve, you drive down the hill and hang a right and visit Domaine Richaud. Another suitcase wine, and doing very well. Made a version of cassoulet and a great pairing it was. Rich, nice finish, lovely.

This is an intense and robust Cairanne showing richly gracious cherry tinged fruit, good depth, discreetly balancing acidity and a firm finish with some alcoholic burn (15.5%) but not, IMO, in an unbalanced way. Very good.

Wow, really rich, went well with roasted duck. Another purchase and lug home story. Always a treat to visit Domaine Richaud, can remember when they shared a tasting room with Rabasse Charavin, on the square in Cairanne. Worth the effort.

give this a couple of hours of air before drinking this. Very nice mourvèdre heavy wine. excellent with bbq

mourvèdre jumping out of the glass. I've been neglecting my Richaud stash of wines, and forgot how compelling they can be. Fruit and rock intensity. Definetely needs air to shine. Believe there was no ebrescade this year and all that fruit went into this cuvée (which also includes fruit from other sites, so Mr. Marcel felt he could not name it ebrescade) such a bargain...

No ebrescade bottling for the 11 vintage, because not all (but still the majority) the grapes came from the ebrecade site in cairanne (but frankly i don t believe anyone but marcel richaud could really tell from tasting this) Lots of mourvedre in this one. Excellent stuff and given that cairanne can be overpowering in top vintages, this is still quite muscular even in 2011. Will be ready earlier than ebrescade 2010. Excellent wine.

In Provençal, “Estrambords” means to surpass your hedonist limits, you know…when you should have stop “just before”… doing a little “too much”… I don’t know if this experience is too much, but it surely unfolds a “wow” in my mouth! I just can’t believe the concentration in this 2011, given the light vintage it’s supposed to be. Strong, full, this Cairanne has plenty to show, obviously displaying its load of provencal red berries and spices. The whole stuff is, yet, …