Pedres Blanques Vin de France

A Full Vertical of Pedres Blanques (2017–2023) : Only released in magnum. Black fruits like the 2021, with sea buckthorn here as well, but overall the primary aromas feel more resolved and the mid-palate is lightly knit. Sandy minerality with moderate tannins.

From magnum. This did not impress me as much as the 2019 did. Initially this showed a bit of chocolate, some dark fruit, and quite serious tannins. After a while, it opened up a bit with some floral notes, more red fruit. The wine has enough acidity. Definitely let this age a bit longer.

Each vintage the couple behind the wine, Hirofumi and Rie Shoji, seem to focus the quality of their wine more and more. What started as a more juicy natural Grenache has really deepened into a serious wine with cellaring. As they age longer in barrel each release the wines have really built structure. Not that I’m saying the wine is like rayas, but it’s singular in the way it expresses Grenache. The dark purple wildness of the fruit is sweet …

Pedres Blanques Wine Dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Shoji (DUPREE, Kyoto) : In 2020, 80% of the production was wiped out by Downy Mildew and as a result merely 856 magnums was made (i.e., no normal bottles produced). The rest of the crop though was harvested with ultra high quality and it really showed in the wine. PNP into Kimura wide bowl glass (“Root” day): Medium bright ruby to the eyes. Regal red cherry and almost wild-berry like fruits here, …