Domaine Bonfils, Reserve La Roca, Côtes du Roussillon AOC, France

Description

About Domaine Bonfils : To drink a glass of wine from the Vignobles Bonfils is to drink from centuries of French history – and even taste a hint of the future. Originally founded in Algeria in 1870 – when the country was still a colony of France – the family business began with Honorine, the wife of Joseph Bonfils, who planted the first vines of the Bonfils line. In 1962, when the ‘pieds-noirs’ – as the French of Algerian origin would come to be known – ‘returned’ to France, the family was forced, quite literally, to grow roots from scratch.
The Languedoc – an abundant region between Perpignan, Narbonne, Carcassonne and Montpellier – became the family’s adopted home, as Jean-Michel Bonfils began working for a family who owned the Domaine de Lirou. When the family decided to leave to travel the world, they left their property to Jean-Michel. And so the Vignobles Bonfils adventure began, and the family’s love for the region runs deep. “My grandfather Jean-Michel, my father Laurent, my uncles Jérôme and Olivier, and my brothers Thomas and Alexandre, and myself: we all respect the regional heritage,” explains Agathe Bonfils. “We are all passionate about the Languedoc.”
Now with 17 properties – 16 in the Languedoc and one in the Bordeaux region – the Vignobles Bonfils produce a huge array of varieties, from ranges of ‘table wine’ to high-end Grand Cru. Standout properties include Château Capitoul, Château Vaugelas, Château L’Esparrou and Château Villerambert, across appellations including La Clape, Languedoc, Corbières, Côtes du Roussillon and Minervois. Each property is truly representative of its earth, and it is testament to their own past that the family so respects and enhances the terroir of each new acquisition.

Vinification: The harvest is partially done manually. Winemaking uses the traditional way, followed by 12 months aging in oak casks.

Description: The Domaine de la Roca spreads over 43 hectares of old vines, at the foot of the Albère mountains. The varietals are : Syrah 40 %, Grenache 30 %, Carignan 30 %. The yield varies between 40 and 45 hl/ha.  This wine is brilliant ruby red with amber tints. The aromas of ripe red fruit, crystallized fruit and vanilla go perfectly with the full mouth, the fruitiness, the fine and elegant tannins and the long persistence.

Alcohol: 13.5%