2005 Oliver Pithon La Coule, Ctes du Roussillon, alc 13.5% $17 Composition of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, and Mouvedre. From soils of schist, calcareous and marl. 20 day maceration in cement tanks.. sees no wood.. Dark purple in the glass (a la Petit Verdot coloration).. a bit sulfur-y on the nose initially but then dirt, smoke and garrigue..attacks the palate with more of a Syrah character.. iron, blood, leather but has a grenache driven sweetness.. tannins have subsided quite a bit since 11/06 (the last tasting)..The fruit is strong but the acid is only moderately so and the tannins are falling away... quite good but probably not on "the way up".
A little background on the winemaker
Olivier is the younger brother of Jo Pithon (of Loire fame)
He started his winemaking career at 14 got his wine diploma at 18 and later spent 6 yrs at Pavie-Maquin in Bordeaux.
Since 2001 he has been making his own wines in Roussillon (in the town of Perpignan). He farms on 15 ha and makes 35,000 total bottles/yr. He uses non-traditional grapes and labels his wines as Vin de Pays. He practices biodynamique techniques and is very passionate about wine, grape growing and wine making. He uses natural yeasts and minimal sulfur only on the grapes. He makes herb tea concoctions to keep disease down on the vines
A little background on the winemaker
Olivier is the younger brother of Jo Pithon (of Loire fame)
He started his winemaking career at 14 got his wine diploma at 18 and later spent 6 yrs at Pavie-Maquin in Bordeaux.
Since 2001 he has been making his own wines in Roussillon (in the town of Perpignan). He farms on 15 ha and makes 35,000 total bottles/yr. He uses non-traditional grapes and labels his wines as Vin de Pays. He practices biodynamique techniques and is very passionate about wine, grape growing and wine making. He uses natural yeasts and minimal sulfur only on the grapes. He makes herb tea concoctions to keep disease down on the vines