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Amphore has a ruby red color with light purple reflections. On the nose, the wine is fruity andvery pleasant. Black pepper emerges when the bottle has been opened for a few minutes, but it does not hide the dried fruits. On the palate, it has zeer fruity and silky tannins. Red currants and red cherry are present throughout, as well as a wonderful freshness.
The syrah grapes used for this wine come from 50-year-old vines. The grapes are completely destemmed after which they undergo a short maceration in amphora with indigenous yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation also takes place in amphora after which the wine is aged for 5 months in amphora. This wine has no added sulfite.
Why Amfora?
Amfora wines originate in Georgia where this method of winemaking was invented some 8,000 years ago. For a long time this method was not used until the rise of organic, biodynamic and natural wines. Stainless steel tanks and equipment to keep them at a constant temperature cost a lot of energy. No (oak) trees need to be cut down for barrel making, and after the wine is bottled, the empty amphora can be easily cleaned with lime and smoke and can be reused.
There are other advantages to using amphora. When the winemaker chooses to include skins, pips and stalks in the fermentation process, the wine contains tannin and requires no or minimal use of sulfite. During alcoholic fermentation, the skins surface, the winemaker normally must then stir the wine, to create as much aroma and structure as possible. Because of the shape of an amphora, natural circulation takes place and the wine is constantly moving. This eliminates or reduces the need for the winemaker to stir the wine.
*No added sulfite
Château Vessière, a family estate, is located in the heart of the Costières de Nîmes in the far south of the Rhone Valley. The Château owns 65 hectares of vineyard. Located at the gates of the Camargue, the estate enjoys exceptional terroir and climate. This magnificent property belonged to Mademoiselle Lucie de Vessière, who became Teulon's wife. The estate has since been passed from generation to generation.
In 1975, Philippe Teulon took over after studying oenology at Montpellier's Faculty of Sciences. The first bottling took place in 1978 but the wine was only consumed privately. It was not until 1979 that the wine was marketed in France and abroad.
Philippe was able to pass on his passion to his son Vincent, who in turn went on to study oenology at Montpellier and then put these studies into practice in Napa Valley, California.
Since 2007, Vincent and his wife Lucie have continued the family history. Together they have developed new working techniques; on the one hand by converting the estate to organic and later biodynamic and on the other by taking on the commercial activities of the company. Currently the couple lives at the Château with their two children to combine family life and demanding work.
Philippe is still present at the estate every day and works closely with Vincent to develop fine and elegant organic wines, for which they receive numerous awards every year.
