Clos d Óra

This svelte red blend celebrates the beauty that bottle aging can reveal. The wine opens with black plum, blackberry puree and hints of hibiscus and dried-cherry shavings. Everything about this wine is well integrated and in balance, including elegant black fruit and still-youthful tannins that tease their latent power. Drink now or confidently age for eight years or more.

Clos d'Ora is the essence of Gérard Bertrand's 20+ year long dream to capture the unique terroir, and spiritual experience Bertrand first felt on the Minervois la Livinière property in 1997. He considers this his first Grand Cru, and it is treated as such throughout. This Demeter certified blend of syrah, Mourvèdre, carignan, and grenache grows around 200m, with the soils worked by horse. The grapes are harvested and macerated separately in concrete before spending a year in French oak. The syrah is destalked; the grenache and Mourvèdre are destemmed and lightly crushed; and the carignan is whole bunch at higher temperatures. Dark and brooding blackberries, black plum, dark earth, charcoal, resinous herbs fill the dense, structural palate, ripe and intense with the southern France sun. Grippy and peppery, firm tannins house this to an amply spiced finish. This is a baby right now; give this some time in cellar and enjoy with lamb.