‘Superstar talent’, says the Wine Advocate of Frédéric and Alexandre Chaudière – third-generation vignerons of Château Pesquié in the Southern Rhône. Known for their unique microclimate in the Ventoux appellation (the highlight of the Tour de France cycle tour), their wines are simply irresistible.
The Pesquié Le Paradou Grenache 2022 remains a knock-out value at R200 and it was a hit at Under the Atrium this past weekend. This crowd-pleaser is 100% Grenache from vines that are up to 60 years old, fermented and aged in concrete and stainless steel. It’s medium-bodied with animated, grainy tannins and shows clean, crunchy strawberry and raspberry, with nuances of black pepper, violets and liquorice.
A perennial overachiever, Pesquié’s Terrases Ventoux Rouge 2022 is their Grenache-Syrah blend from vineyards at 300m altitude, aged mainly in concrete and steel. It ‘really punches above its weight’ (Decanter) with notes of wild strawberry, wet stones, blueberries, lavender, red peppercorn, and sleek, velvety tannins. ‘Just delicious’, says the Wine Advocate.
Ventoux AOC is ‘the rising star of the Rhône’ (Decanter) and it’s clear that Château Pesquié, in the foothills of Mont Ventoux, is leading the charge. View their full range here.
Tasting Notes:
Pesquié Le Paradou Grenache 2022
This vintage has not been rated yet; see the 2021 tasting note:
‘A great little value, the 2021 Vin De France Grenache is a juicy, pure Grenache offering wonderful raspberry and strawberry fruits as well as some peppery garrigue notes. Medium-bodied, balanced, charming, and just undeniably delicious, it’s about as good a bistro wine as there is. Drink it over the coming couple of years.’ – Jeb Dunnuck, 90/100
Pesquié Terrasses Ventoux Rouge 2022
‘As usual, the 2022 Ventoux Terrasses is a 60-40 blend of Grenache and Syrah. The wood aging has been pared back to less than 5% of the volume, with the majority of the wine aged in stainless steel and concrete tanks. This vintage shows fabulous cherry fruit, with some blueberries and garrigue mixed in. It’s full-bodied, plush, velvety and balanced, not overpowering or overly tannic, just delicious.’ – Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate, 91-93/100
