Winemaker Notes
The wine was made in the old gravity-fed cellar built in 1930, with cement tanks built into the floor. The wine spent four weeks on the skins with ripe whole clusters and then aged in old foudres and some new demi-muids for 18 months. Bottled without fining or filtration.
Blend: 55% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from very old vines and similar rocky, pebbly soils as La Crau in Châteauneuf Du Pape, the 2018 Vin de France Liberty is a beautiful, elegant wine that shows the soft, forward style of the vintage. Blackberries, violets, pepper, and some earthy meatiness all emerge from this medium-bodied, concentrated and elegant red. It's beautifully balanced and certainly competes with plenty of Châteauneuf Du Pape. Give it a year or two. The blend is 55% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, and the rest Cinsault and Carignan that was all destemmed.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Not as concentrated or muscular as the 2019, the 2018 Vin de France Liberty is silkier in feel and more elegant, with gentle black cherry and dried-spice notes.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
A small category representing the wines that either fall outside of appellation lines or don’t subscribe to the law and traditions set forth by the French government within certain classified appellations, “Vin De France” is a catch-all that includes some of the most basic French wines as well as those of superior quality. The category includes large production, value-driven wines. It also includes some that were made with a great deal of creativity, diligence and talent by those who desire to make wine outside of governmental restrictions. These used to be called Vin de Table (table wine) but were renamed to compete with other European countries' wines of similar quality.