Yves Cuilleron : Madiniere 2017

A Cote-Rotie Syrah with juicy fruit and black pepper aromas

The estate

The Yves Cuilleron estate dates back three generations to 1920, when it was first founded by Claude Cuilleron. The first commercial bottling was born twenty-seven years later. During the 1960's, Antoine Cuilleron took over the estate, finally passing it to his nephew Yves in 1987. Upon taking over the family business, Yves Cuilleron expanded the vineyard holdings by purchasing a vineyard in Cote Rotie in 1989. Today he produces a beautiful portfolio of red and white wines from 185 acres of vineyard, spread out over the most legendary appellations of the Northern Rhone, including Condrieu, Saint-Joseph and Cote-Rotie.

The vineyard

The Yves Cuilleron Madiniere 2017 comes from a 12.4-acre vineyard with south- and southeast-facing orientation to the north of the Cote-Rotie appellation in the northern Rhone Valley of France. The vineyard is densely planted at 8,000-10,000 vines per hectare and treatments are limited as much as possible. Insecticides are strictly forbidden as a way to preserve biodiversity and the little fertilizers applied is organic. The vigor and yields of the vines are strictly controlled with leaf stripping, green harvest and disbudding in the spring to optilize the ripening of the grapes. The vines dig their roots deep into schist soils, which are believed to impart a certain elegance and structure to this wine.

The winemaking and ageing

Following a manual harvest, the grapes are sorted, crushed and partially destemmed in the cellar. Vinification takes place on a plot-by-plot basis with indigenous yeasts and 3 weeks of maceration in open vats. This wine is aged for 18 months in oak barrels with batches from various parcels blended just before bottling.

The blend

The Madiniere 2017 by Yves Cuilleron is composed of 97% Syrah and 3% Viognier.

The tasting

The Madiniere 2017 by Yves Cuilleron is cool-climate Syrah at its very best, revealing rich yet restrained black fruit, black olive and black pepper aromas in the glass. In accordance with Cote Rotie tradition, a touch (less than 5%) of Viognier is added to "lift" the blend, lend it a silkier texture and accentuate the fruity and floral characteristic of the Syrah. 

The service

This wine is ready to be enjoyed young (4 to 5 years after its vintage), but can also age for a decade more in the bottle. We recommend serving it at temperatures between 61 and 64.5° F. This wine will pair beatifully with boldly flavored meat dishes, like duck or lamb.