11 of the best from Cairanne
the strength in its veins is never overdone. Lovely, long and full – genuine; typical. Drink 2016-2021 Alc 14%
Domaine Jubain, Vieilles Vignes, Cairanne 2012
89 N/A UK domaine. jubain@orange.fr Expressive, nuanced bouquet of spice and dark fruits. Suave, serene drinking – broadly flavoured, true and terroir specific. Drink 20162021 14%
Domaine Boisson, Cairanne 2012
88 POA Bibendum PLB Deep and fat bouquet of cooked fruits and herbs. Tasty attack – the southern depth of fruit sustains it. Understated wine but it holds good weight and richness. Drink 2016-2020 Alc 14%
Domaine Richaud, Cairanne 2014
88 £ 25.99 Aske Wine, Carruthers & Kent,
Hawkshead, Liberty Wines, Slurp, The Wine Reserve, Wholefoods Lucid and attractive black fruit aromas, the palate is stylish and free-running and the finish is neat. Drink 2016-2020 Alc 14%
Famille Perrin, Peyre Blanche, Cairanne 2011
88 £ 13.75 Berry Bros & Rudd Sweet herbs and plum fruit in a lifted bouquet. Shapely, wellwoven palate with good tannic support. Authentic ripeness here. Drink 2016-2021 Alc 14%
L’Ameillaud, Cairanne 2012
88 £ 11.18 Exel Wines Southern depth and oiliness on the bouquet with notes of raspberry liqueur. Deep fruit, shapely tannins, and a little mystery on the palate. Heat and life on the finish. Drink 2016-2020 Alc 14.5%
For full UK stockist details, see p147 in the soil is generally higher. As Frédéric Alary of Domaine de l’Oratoire St-Martin says: ‘We really want the wine to raise its game, and allow us to show that Cairanne is more elegant and fine than our neighbours.’
The 2012 vintage was fabulous here, a bearer of both bounty and flair – and an accurate depiction of the terroir in the glass. The 2013s were more crunchy, low on Grenache, while the 2014s deliver fruit with some flair: many are extremely appealing.
Youth and recent start-ups are also making their mark; Patrice Jubain, a former audiovisual producer whose father and grandfather were members of a wine co-op, makes a small amount of Vieilles Vignes in bottle, led by a lovely, genuine 2012. Loïc Massart, an industrial engineer until 2011, has issued promising red and white in 2014 under his domaine name of Les Chemins de Sève. Domaine Clos Romane was set up in 2011 when Stéphane Charançon left the local cooperative; his vineyards are both in the east and the west, and he works with low sulphur, seeking to make wines marked by freshness.
Amid all this expectation lies one shadow, however. The Cave de Cairanne, Camille Cayran, emerged from two years in receivership in February, its finances so perilous that an outside appointee had been controlling all of its spending. Many co-op members have left, and production is down to a very small 14,000hl, under one-third of its usual level. It has an arrangement with the merchant Les Grandes Serres, which rents