Cuvée Tradition  Composed of 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre and 10% Cinsault grapes from vines between 20 and 60 years old on the Moulin de la Gardette hillsides, at elevations from 100m to 300m. The crop is hand-picked (of course) and 100% destemmed but does not pass through a crusher, so that many of the berries ferment whole. The must is allowed to ferment at its own pace using just the natural yeasts to preserve the consistent Moulin de la Gardette character from one vintage to the next.
The 2007 Cuvee Tradition is rich and luxurious with soft tannins and a long finish. It should drink well for the next five years or more. A very old Grenache vine Cuvée Ventabren  Jean Baptiste's aim with the Cuvee Ventabren is to produce a wine that will still excite even 20 years after harvest; that may sound like a challenge but, once tasted, one realises that the real challenge will be to keep the bottles unopened in the cellar for 20 years! The cuvée is composed of 70% Grenache from very old vines, 20% Syrah and 10% Cinsault, with the latter fermented together. Fermentation is long and slow, followed by 12 months ageing in old Allier oak barrels and another 6 months in tank to allow the assembled wine to settle down.
This is a wine that ages gracefuilly, showing fruit and spice in youth and developing more character and complexity with age as the oak recedes. Open the Ventabren in advance and decant to allow it to breathe - you'll not be disappointed! Syrah grapes ready to harvest Petite Gardette  This is a wine made from the fruit of young Grenache and Syrah vines, a real Gigondas red but ready to drink right now. All the bunches are destemmed so that the tannins are very soft and the wine inmmediately accessible. Rich with fruit overlaid with cherry jam, treacle and tarry notes, the wine is full, has extraordinary length and is rich and smooth in the mouth. This wine is not just sensous it's sexy!
Cinsault grapes Cuvée Marie-Elizabeth Morawetz Rosé  The rosé wine is a "saignee" from the Ventabren Syrah/Cinsault maceration tank, i.e., juice is taken from the tank just a few hours after harvest and, at this point ,the grape skins have not had time to impart a lot of colour, so the juice has the delicate 'blush' of a rosé. The cuvée is dedicated to the memory of Marie-Elizabeth Morawetz, Jean Baptiste's aunt who, along with Jean Baptiste's mother, was brought up at la Gardette and lived close to the vineyard all her life.
Cuvée Zoë  The cuvée Zoë is a unique wine, the first vintage was made in 1998 from specially selected grapes to celebrate the birth of winemaker Jean-Baptiste's first child, Zoë. Just two barriques (enough for only 600 bottles) were made in which the wine matured for the next seven years before bottling. Half of this vintage has been laid down for Zoë (perhaps for her wedding?) and the remainder was snapped up by some of the most presigeous restaurants around the World.
Fortunately for us however this was not just a on-off event as in those years when Jean-Baptiste has especially good grapes he has set aside a couple of barriques of the hand-made cuvée Zoë. The 2001 vintage, rich, subtle, blackberries and cherries with a hint of liquorice is ready now. The label shows a water colour portrait of Zoë by Isobel George www.gallerygeorge.com | 
