Winemaker Notes
This blend, with a majority of Syrah completed by Grenache, gives a dense and powerful wine with velvety tannins.
Blend: 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the 2020s from bottle, the 2020 Ventoux Quintessence is beauty revealing assorted blackberry and black raspberry-like fruits, some obvious chalky minerality, medium to full body, and a complex bouquet of violets, flowers, and spice. I love its purity, and it's going to age for 10-15 years in cold cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Ventoux Quintessence is the typical blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache, aged in a mix of concrete, demi-muids and barriques. Scents of licorice, wood spice and vanilla join mixed berries on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is lush and creamy in texture, with a long, supple finish. While perhaps a touch modern in style, it offers an undeniably appealing marriage of freshness and power.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Stretching across the slopes of the Ventoux mountain in the southeastern region of the Rhône River Valley, Cotes du Ventoux excels in the production of spicy and characterful red blends based on Grenache, Syrah, and other indigenous varieties. The region also produces rich and aromatic whites and rosés.