Philippe Badea 2018 Les Chibanettes

Grenache Noir 100%

VDF

the Cuvée name comes from the colloquial and charming word for old folk in the Magreb of North Africa. Badea’s own name has Romanian roots and also means old folk, coincidentally. The old school character of the wine is driven by the selection of old vines planted in 1945.

The fruit, whole bunches, was foot-trodden in the cases into which they were picked, and manually put into fibreglass tank to ferment, using natural yeasts and no other entrants, except a tiny dose of sulfites after the malo and before bottling. No temperature control, but ambient 31 to 32ºC. Five to seven delestages (rack and return, all the wine is drained off the marc, the skins, then put back in, thus thoroughly aerating the wine and soaking the skins) were carried out during a total cuvaison or time on skins of 21 days.
After pressing the wine was put back in tank to age for six months. It was bottled under cork without fining or filtration.

Vintage notes 2018
Much of the Southern Rhône was hit by mildew as a result of a wet spring, yet many producers managed it and even benefited from the water. All the Badea 2018s show concentration as well as juicy, attractively vegetal fruit.
Yield hl/ha: 25 hl/ha
Harvested: September 25.
Bottles produced: 3,000.
Date bottled: 2019-07.
Alcohol: 15.5 %
SO2 Total: 15

Sweet black spice, cacao and iron, more stinging nettle on nose.