Chateau Beauchene Cotes du Rhone Le Sens de Syrah 2004
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Michel Bernard’s family has lived in Orange since the 17th century. « Mesnagers » or tenant farmers, the Bernards were to profit from the social upheavals of the French Revolution, buying their first vineyard soon after the conflict in 1794. This vineyard is still present nowadays. Since 1971, Michel Bernard runs with his wife Dominique, the vineyard, which they have developed since and in 2004, their eldest daughter joined the board.
Today Chateau Beauchêne has become the hub for the vinification and maturation of all the cuvees from the different vineyards owned by the family.
The whole harvest is bottled at the Chateau. In close collaboration with the research department of Inter-Rhône, Michel Bernard is personally looking after the vines and the vinification. Dominique Vergniaud looks after the financial side of the business and the “Galerie”. Amandine Bernard is in charge of the export sales and marketing from the UK.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Typically thought of as a baby Chateâuneuf-du-Pape, the term Côtes du Rhône actually doesn’t merely apply to the flatter outskirts of the major southern Rhône appellations, it also includes the fringes of well-respected northern Rhône appellations. White wines can be produced under the appellation name, but very little is actually made.
The region offers some of the best values in France and even some first-rate and age-worthy reds. Red wine varieties include most of the Chateâuneuf-du-Pape varieties like Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, and Counoise, as well as Carignan. White grapes grown include Grenache blanc, Roussanne and Viognier, among others.