Gramenon 'Ceps Centenaires La Mémé' 2019

Domaine Gramenon stands apart, both in terms of its location high up in the village of Montbrison-sur-Lez, north-east of Southern Rhône wine country, as well as the emphasis it places on Grenache over Syrah. 

The ever-prescient and non-conformist Michèle Laurent took over after her husband Philippe’s untimely death in 1999, converting the family vineyards from organic farming to biodynamics. Now, the estate is looked after by their son Maxime, who is taking the farming and winemaking up another notch.

Gramenon’s ‘La Mémé Ceps Centenaires’ is one of the Rhône’s great Grenache cuvées – it’s also a pretty rare beast. From 100+-year-old, pre-phylloxera vines grown on a mix of sand and limestone and fermented with whole bunches, it broods with tangy red fruit and green-olive zing. Drink over the next two decades.