Franck Balthazar - Côtes du Rhône 2022
Domaine Franck Balthazar was founded in 1931. It has been managed since 2002 by Franck, who succeeded his father René, in charge since 1950 and who had supervised the transition to bottling at the estate in the 1970s. The estate went from 2 hectares in 2002 (1 hectare of century-old vines in Chaillot and 1 hectare of vines around 50 years old in Mazard ) to around 3.5 hectares today. Plantings on a steep site above Sabarotte were added in 2005 and 2008 on newly formed terraces. Franck Balthazar's objective is to maintain the traditional approach of his grandfather, Casimir.
The vineyards are organic and plowed with a horse, the ferments are whole bunches with native yeasts in concrete vats. To preserve the scent of old vines and high altitude plantations, all the wines are aged in old 600 liter demi-muids . Sulfur is kept to a minimum and all winemaking techniques are as natural as possible.
Côtes-du-Rhône is a blend of Syrah and Grenache. These grape varieties come from three hectares of vines near Vinsobres . Vinification takes place in vats and fermentation begins with native yeasts. The wine is not filtered, and a minimal amount of sulfur is added.
Grape varieties: 75% Syrah, 25% Grenache