Rasteau, Southern Rhône, France
Domaine des Escarvailles
Within sight of the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux, the family run Domaine de Escarvailles is in the Southern Rhone cru of Rasteau. Its name originates from ‘Escaravay’, which means beetle in the local Occitan dialect. The estate was established in 1953 by Jean-Louis Ferran who subsequently planted vines with the intention of producing and bottling his own wines. Today, the winery is run by Jean-Louis’ great granddaughter, Madeline, who works alongside her father, Gilles and grandfather, Daniel.
The vineyards face southeast at an altitude of 350 m. The soils are predominantly blue marl with the round ‘galet roulés’ pebbles also found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In keeping with the cru villages of the Southern Rhone, grenache is the principal variety, however, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault are also grown in the estate.
La Ponce
La Ponce is the flagship wine of the estate. The wine is made from a blend of Grenache (80%) and Syrah (20%) grown in the single vineyard of La Ponce.
The grapes are hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard. After destemming, the Grenache and Syrah are fermented separately in concrete tanks for 28-35 days with daily punch-downs and pump-overs. Thereafter, the Grenache is matured in concrete and the Syrah on old oak barriques for 15 months.
