Anne Pichon "Sauvage"

Grapes: Syrah + Grenache

Region: Ventoux, Rhone, France

Vintage: 2020

Viticulture: Organic

Soils: Chalk + Clay

Vinification: Destemmed, then fermented in tanks for 3-4 weeks

Aging: 8 months in stainless steel

Fining or Filtering:  None

Sulfur: None added

Notes from the Importer:  Marc Pichon purchased Domaine le Murmurium in the Cote de Ventoux village of Mormoiron in early 2008. It's comprised of 13ha of old vineyards on prime terroir adjacent to Chateau Pesquie. Murmurium is derived from Latin, meaning, "The Buzzing Song of Bees", an old estate name which is honored by the crest on the Anne Pichon labels. Over the past two years, Marc has acquired more old vineyards to bring the size of the domaine to 21ha, including: 9ha of Grenache, 5ha Syrah, 1ha Merlot, 0.8ha Carignan, 1.2 Roussanne, 1.5 Viognier, 0.7ha Grenache Blanc, 1.5 Clairette and 0.3ha Bourboulenc.

All of the vineyards are cultivated using 100% organic practices without the use of any chemicals or pesticides and the soils are tilled manually. Additionally, all harvesting is done by hand and each varietal is vinified separately. The main goal at Murmurium is to maintain a style of rich, ripe and hand-crafted wines through careful vineyard management, low yields and late harvesting.

All of the crops are 100% destemmed. Reds are vinified in small 50hl cemented tanks at low temperatures to achieve a long maceration. For extraction, Marc generally performs two gentle pump overs and additional manual punch down of the caps if necessary. The fermentation extends 3 to 4 weeks with a slow progressive increase in temperature in order to extract a very fine tannin structure. The malolactic fermentation and aging take place partly in oak barrels but mostly in cement tanks. White wines are made from only a light pressing of first run juice and vinified in stainless steel tanks with strict temperature control to maintain a balance of ripe fruit and freshness.