Eric Texier, Brezeme Pergaud Vieille Serine 2016

93 points John Gilman, View from the Cellar
"The 2016 Brézème “Vielle Serine” Domaine de Pergaud bottling from Éric Texier is crafted from a parcel of petite serine that is more than seventy years of age. It is entirely whole cluster, fermented with indigenous yeasts in old wooden vats and aged in foudres for at least three years prior to bottling; the 2016 is the brand-new release of this outstanding wine. The wine offers up a stunning young nose of cassis, black raspberries, smoked meats, bitter chocolate, chalky minerality, a touch of lavender and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied and beautifully transparent in personality, with a fine core of 87 black fruit, ripe, buried tannins, lovely focus and grip and a long, complex, tangy and impeccably balanced finish. This is outstanding juice in the making. 2029-2060."

Vinous Reverie Notes
"100% Syrah. From 70+ year-old vines of a old, pre-clonal variety known as "Serine", planted on a south-facing, limestone marl slope of the Brézème zone (on eastern side of the Rhône River at the southern edge of the northern Rhône Valley). They are organically farmed and harvested by hand. The vinification and aging are identical to Texier's St Julien Serine bottling and thus purely expressive of the cooler, less solar, more limestone-rich Brézème terroir: whole-cluster fermentation with indigneous yeasts and no sulfur in wooden vats with an 8-10-day maceration; no extraction technqiues, only a submerged cap for a gentle infusion of color and flavor; aging in foudres for 36-48 months on the fine lees without racking; bottling without fining or filtration and generally no sulfur."