Domaine les Hautes Cances, Cairanne, Cuvee Col Debat

Elegant Southern Rhône wine, a blend of 45 % Grenache, 26 % Syrah, 25 % Carignan and 4 % Counoise, aged for eighteen months in large oak foudres. Color: deep dark red with purple reflections at the rim. Bouquet: inviting nose displaying scents of violets, blueberry, cassis and hints of thyme and cedar wood. On the palate: a well-balanced medium- to full-bodied wine offering ripe bramble and elderberry fruit, quite a silky texture, harmoniously integrated tannins and a fine acid …

Coravin sample This is a really interesting bottle of Cairanne, as it is atypical for Cairanne... The slopes are north facing contrary to practically all cru worthy bottlings in Cairanne and Rasteau. This gives a much finer expression of the terroir than you would expect. Nice concentration of red fruit, lots of licorice, but not heavy or alcoholic. This held its own nicely (but more focus on the fruit) to close a lunch with a Poggione Paganello BdM Riserva 07, …

Lots of fresh dark berries, smokey game and spices on the nose, lots of upfront dark fruit on the attack that becomes more elegant through the mid palate, some bitter still need to resolve themselves for a more complete finish

This is pretty impressive cairanne from a north facing slope. Yields are ridiculously low (20 and less). Lots going on here. Old school but I simply adore these. Will be a killer in 3 to 5 years.