Roc d'Anglade 2017

Characteristics and tasting advice for Roc d'Anglade 2017

Tasting

Appearance

The color reveals an intense, bright ruby hue, enhanced by subtle purplish highlights.

Nose

The nose opens on a delicate aromatic palette dominated by fresh red fruits: raspberry, strawberry, and cherry. With aeration, notes of peppermint bring a characteristic menthol freshness, accompanied by floral touches of violet and sweet spices such as cinnamon. A fine, perfectly integrated oakiness completes the whole without ever dominating.

Palate

The attack is graceful and incisive, carried by a natural acidity that harmoniously structures the wine. The palate unfurls juicy flavors of ripe cherry, supported by remarkably fine, caressing, silky tannins. The whole combines indulgence and seriousness, offering a soft, almost velvety texture. The finish lingers at length with saline mineral impressions and delicate floral touches.

Food and wine pairings

This wine pairs perfectly with a Milanese veal chop, a lamb navarin, or lamb chops. It also goes very well with herb-roasted chicken with Herbes de Provence, braised duck, or a venison daube with prunes. For cheeses, opt for semi-cooked pressed cheeses and aged goat cheeses.

Serving and cellaring

It is recommended to decant Roc d'Anglade 2017 one to two hours before serving and to serve it at a temperature between 16 and 17°C. This wine can be enjoyed now but will fully reveal its potential with a few years of aging. Drink through around 2032.

A fresh, elegant Languedoc wine

The estate

Founded in 1999 by Rémy Pédreno, a former computer engineer turned winemaker, the Roc d'Anglade estate spans around nine hectares in the village of Langlade, near Nîmes, in Occitania. Trained alongside René Rostaing in Côte-Rôtie, Rémy Pédreno brought to the Languedoc a philosophy favoring finesse and elegance over power. Certified organic, the estate enjoys exceptional recognition with two stars from the Revue des Vins de France. Rémy Pédreno now runs the estate alongside his wife Martine and Jeremy Stevenson.

The vineyard

Roc d'Anglade 2017 comes from plots located in the village of Langlade, classified as IGP Pays du Gard. The vineyard is made up of a mosaic of parcels aged from five to sixty years, planted mostly with a due-north exposure to preserve freshness. The soils show a remarkable composition of limestone marls over clay-silt-silica, reminiscent of Burgundy terroirs. This diversity of parcels and vine ages considerably enriches the wine’s final complexity. Vineyard management follows organic farming principles, with mechanical soil work, natural grass cover, and pruning in gobelet or double Royat cordon.

The vintage

The 2017 vintage is marked by a harmonious balance between periods of summer heat and a relative freshness that preserved the grapes’ acidity. This year offered particularly favorable conditions for expressing the freshness and elegance sought by the estate. Hand harvesting was carried out at the optimal point of ripeness, determined by daily tasting of the grapes rather than by chemical analyses.

Winemaking and aging

Roc d'Anglade 2017 is vinified with about 80 to 100% whole clusters, a practice that lends remarkable tannic finesse. Fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts in open-top vats, without aggressive extraction, over a maceration of ten to eighteen days. The wine then undergoes eighteen months of aging on fine lees, split between 6-hectoliter demi-muids, 12-hectoliter muids, and 30-hectoliter foudres. A light filtration over white earth precedes bottling.

Grape varieties

Carignan (55%), mourvèdre (25 to 35%), grenache, syrah and cinsault (20 to 25%)