Martinelle Ventoux Rouge 2023

I’ve always loved the wines of Ventoux, especially as so many Rhône reds are so big and overblown these days. The altitude of the vineyards around the imposing Mont Ventoux, as well as the Mistral wind which blows through in the summer, keeps the grapes around here healthy and gives them a lovely balance and freshness. It's literally a breath of fresh air! Winemaker Corinna Faravel, seeing this potential over twenty years ago, made the brave move from Germany to buy her own vineyards here in 2001. This is her flagship wine - made up of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre from her beautiful, organically-farmed estate. She does everything in the vineyards to pick perfectly healthy and ripe grapes, and the winemaking is pretty simple from there. The wine is aged in concrete tanks and bottled with a tiny bit of sulphur to preserve all that vineyard character. If you love Côtes du Rhône but maybe you miss how it used to taste - this wine is for you. It's bright, fresh and juicy, with lovely flavours of raspberry, violets and spice. Corinna sold her wine very briefly in Ireland around 10 years ago - she couldn’t be happier to be back, and I’m delighted to make it happen!