IGP Vaucluse Gourt de Mautens Jérôme Bressy 2012 MAGNUM

IGP Vaucluse Gourt de Mautens Magnum Jérôme Bressy 2012, MAGNUM natural wine, old vines, biodynamic practise, sublime balance of power and finesse. Jerome has to be one of the great producers of his region of Rasteau and Gigondas. When the southern Rhone wine is good, it truly is some of the finest full bodied red in the world, managing to combine that natural balance between body and depth of flavour with fresh balance which doesn’t cloy the palate and is not disturbed by over used wood ageing. Jerome does this so well. The 2012 is now drinking beautifully although it will reward long ageing, well the worth the price tag.

This unique little domain is run by Jérôme Bressy, a sixth generation wine maker who suggested to his father that they should start making their own wine, rather than selling the harvest to the local co-operative – he was just 16 at the time.

By 1989, as a 23 year old, he had convinced his father to go organic. After that, things moved fast – the domain went biodynamic in 1993 and in 1996 they produced their first wine and built a winery. A cellar followed in 1998.Bressy uses the practise of “co-plantation” – a traditional method of growing various varieties of grape together on the same plot of land to create harmony and synergy. This phenomenon is assisted by biodynamics. Rigorous sorting twice at harvest and once on the sorting table mean that only the finest grapes make it into the wine and so overall yields are exceptionally low. This means quality is never compromised and the final wines, like bottles of liquid black gold should be treasured and nurtured before drinking, ideally 8 - 10 years. They will continue to grow in bottle for another 10 years after that.The domain was certified organic by Ecocert in 1989 and biodynamic by Demeter in 2008. Jérôme Bressy wishes to continue to develop these natural methods in future, hoping to find a perfectly 'precise, natural and artisanal viticulture'.