Clos Milan Domain Milan Manesse 2006

Clos Milan 2006 Henri Milan, organic wine, natural wine, sublime Provençal flavours and rich texture. Old vines Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre from the great Henri Milan’s eponymous estate in the Alpilles. The Clos vineyard is situated right in front of the lovely farm house with the back drop of the Alpilles mountains and the lavender fields of Provence. It is a beautiful and natural place to be and the grapes find harmony in this environment and yield great quality fruit which is fermented in concrete with wild yeast and then aged in old barrels for at least a couple of years. Subtle and elegant aromas of dark fruit, herbs and black olive are woven into a structured but fresh palate. Like the whites Milan’s reds have a burgundy like quality to them and the Clos at 14% alcohol drinks very easily indeed. The 2006 vintage Manesse spent 10 years maturing in barriques before bottling, it is a fascinating drop of mature wine. It has dark brooding fruits, black olive, herbs de Provence and still plenty of freshness. At 15 years old, it is showing beautifully but i would say has a good 3-5 years in it yet.

Henri Milan has always done thing his way, and broke away from the Baux de Provence AOC so as to have the freedom to produce the wines he wanted.

The Domaine was started by Henri's father Robert in 1956, but it wasn't until Henri took over in the mid-80s that he converted to organic production. Influenced by Claude Courtois and Claude Bourguignon, Henri began to vinify the different sections of his vineyard separately and moved further towards natural production. He now grows a number of grape varieties including Grenache, Syrah, Grenache Blanc, Rolle, Roussanne and Chardonnay. The only chemical treatment used during the entire process of growth and vinification is a small amount of sulphur dioxide, which is added, on some rare occasions, during bottling. Fermentation always takes place naturally, with the grapes blended at the beginning of the process, rather than at the end. His wines have a wonderful purity and expression of terroir.