Les Abeilles 2007

Tasting note
Colour - Mid-depth ruby.

Aroma - Upfront aroma of ripe bramble fruit and rosemary.

Taste - Velvety textured displaying lush blackberry fruit and a rich herbal finish

	Type:Still Red Wine		Country:France		Appellation:Côtes du Rhône AOC
	Grape Type:Grenache-based blend		Drink Before:End of 2010		Body:Rich and Flavoursome
	Alcohol:14%		Bottle Size:75cl		Bottle Code:60756

Description
No-one in the Rhône has more experience than André Roux - nearly 70 vintages and medals galore. When famous names like Chapoutier and Guigal want advice, they come to André's kitchen. Here they receive a glass of red and softly spoken words of wisdom from the man who has earned top honours for his wines from the medieval village of Chusclan, which lies just north of Lirac and Tavel and across the river from Châteauneauf-du-Pape.

André Roux's special techniques for producing his supple and deeply fruity red wines start in the vineyard. At harvest time, standing by the reception area, André only allows the cream of the crop to be included in his special cuvée. He is a master at extracting the deep colour and flavours from his grapes with little harsh tannins. This he does by putting the chosen fruit through a whole grape fermentation (carbonic maceration - a method used in Beaujolais) which extracts all the juicy fruit flavour from the grapes and little tannin. In this wine, however, André obtains much greater depth and concentration. Thanks also to a high proportion of Grenache used in this blend, this helps to ensure the wine's smooth, velvety texture and rich bramble fruit, whilst Syrah provides structure, finesse, black berry fruit with underlying spicy notes.