2019 Domaine Vaquer Cotes du Roussillon Cuvée Bernard

1/3 Carignan, 1/3 Grenache Noir, 1/3 Syrah & clay-limestone, 200 meters asl facing the Mediterranean Sea. Located in the Pyrenees mountain town of Tresserre at 650 feet elevation, Domaine Vaquer overlooks Collioure and the Mediterranean sea. The vicious Tramontane wind of the region whips through Frédérique’s garrique-covered vines, including old plantings of Carignan, planted just after WWII en gobelet (bush vines planted close to the ground) and worked without machines, only by hand. As in Collioure and across the border in Spanish Catalonia, Rancio-style Rivesaltes is the more historical wine of this area, which is often compared to Vin Jaune of the Jura, aging sous voile to protect it from total oxidation. While a small amount of textbook solera Rivesaltes is still made at the Domaine Vaquer, since Frédérique studied in Burgundy she is consequently fixated on terroir-revealing elegant red sand dry, saline whites with a remarkable sense of precision beyond what you’d expect from the region. Her new releases are brimming with energy, and along with her current releases she generously agreed to part with some library bottles from her cellar that show the incredible aging potential of her terroir.