Tardieu Laurent : Vacqueyras "Vieilles Vignes" 2024

Characteristics and tasting notes for the Vacqueyras "Vieilles Vignes" 2024 Tardieu Laurent

Tasting notes

Colour
Red in colour, this wine reveals an appealing ruby hue that can deepen to a rich garnet-ruby.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet opens with captivating scents of dried flowers, oriental spices and black fruits, revealing a lovely purity.

Palate
The attack offers a silky texture and a lovely fruity richness, dominated by blackberry, aniseed, spiced black raspberry and cherry compote. With aeration, hints of lavender pastille emerge. This medium-to full-bodied wine is built on fine tannins and a subtle minerality, extending into a vibrant and well-concentrated finish.

Food and wine pairing

This red wine pairs wonderfully with lamb-based dishes, whether roasted or in sauce. It also enhances herb-roasted red meats, slow-cooked dishes, game such as pheasant or venison, as well as aged hard cheeses, particularly those made from sheep's milk.

Service and storage

For an optimal tasting experience of the Vacqueyras "Vieilles Vignes" 2024, it is recommended to serve it at a temperature of around 14°C and to decant it two hours before serving. Approachable in its youth, this wine also has excellent aging potential and can be cellared until around 2034.

Other characteristics

This wine has an alcohol content of 14.5%.

The richness and depth of a Vacqueyras by Tardieu Laurent

The estate

Founded in 1996 by Michel Tardieu, the house of Tardieu Laurent is a renowned micro-négociant based in Lourmarin, in Provence. Specializing in the meticulous selection of grapes from very old vines throughout the Rhône Valley, the company is now a fully family-run business. Michel Tardieu continues to oversee its overall direction, supported by his wife Michèle and their children Camille and Bastien, the latter also serving as winemaker. The estate stands out for its respectful approach to terroir and its organic farming certification, producing cuvées that celebrate the diversity of the Rhône.

The vineyard

The grapes for this Vacqueyras come from carefully selected plots within the appellation, named Les Grès, Les Pendants, La Longe and La Ponche. The terroir consists mainly of sand and rolled pebbles, providing excellent drainage and encouraging deep rooting. The vines, grown according to organic farming principles, are notably old: over sixty years for the Grenache and around forty years for the Syrah, ensuring limited yields but remarkable aromatic concentration.

The vintage

The year 2024 brought warm climatic conditions, allowing the berries to reach optimal and complete ripeness.

Winemaking and aging

For the Vacqueyras "Vieilles Vignes" 2024, two-thirds of the harvest is destemmed, with the remaining third fermented as whole clusters. Traditional winemaking involves rigorous temperature control and extended maceration. Aging takes place over a total of twenty-four months: an initial year in French oak barrels made from wood sourced from the Allier and Tronçais forests, followed by an additional twelve months in traditional wooden foudres. The wine is finally bottled without any fining and with only very light filtration.

Grape varieties

This wine is made from a blend of 70 to 75% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 5 to 15% Mourvèdre, depending on variations in the harvest.