Domaine Chamfort Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet La Pause Rouge 2020

Vasco Perdigao has crafted an exquisite, polished Côtes-du-Rhône in the 2020 Domaine Chamfort Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet La Pause Rouge (70% Grenache, 30% Syrah). The scion of another superb vintage in the Southern Rhône, the 2020 Domaine Chamfort Sablet hails from the appellation’s two prime red varietals: Grenache and Syrah from the picturesque, sun splashed hills surrounding Sablet. Deep in color and rich in flavor, the polished 2020 Domaine Chamfort Sablet offers up a juicy and enticing aroma redolent with raspberry, black cherry, and savory spice notes. In the mouth, woodland berries and violets lightly dusted with Provencal herbs and a hint of black pepper grace the palate, bolstered by suave textured tannins that glide across the tongue. Domaine Chamfort’s 2020 Sablet is no ordinary Côtes-du-Rhône. It possesses great purity and reflects Sablet’s special terroir as well as Vasco Perdigao’s penchant for organic viticulture and minimal intervention in winemaking. For optimal enjoyment we suggest affording the 2020 Domaine Chamfort Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet 10-15 minutes of aeration before serving it at a cool serving temperature (58º-62º F). Anticipated maturity: 2023-2027. Enjoy!

Domaine Chamfort’s 2020 Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Sablet is a wonderful go-to anytime wine that pairs with all kinds of food. Whether it’s lamb, poultry, game birds, pasta, pizzas, or a heady vegetable dish, the 2020 Chamfort Côtes-du-Rhône Sablet aims to please. It can hold court at a dinner party or lend credence to almost any ordinary mid-week meal. Domaine Chamfort’s 2020 Côtes-du-Rhône Sablet turns comfort foods and casual mid-week meals into occasions. Whether it is paired with a seared veal chop with shallots and chanterelle mushrooms, pulled pork barbecue, a Cuban sandwich, or a grilled chicken BLT, a meal becomes a veritable feast. Add French bread and hunks of hard cheese and let the good times roll. Eggplant Rollatini; pasta with a rich, savory tomato sauce; and a thin crusted three cheese pizza, the type of pizza one encounters in Provence and for which red Côtes-du-Rhône possesses a natural affinity, make splendid accompaniments, too. Bon appétit!

Domaine Chamfort lies at the foot of the last outcropping of the Alps, known as the Dentelles de Montmirail. It extends over 21 hectares (approximately 52 acres) spread over three of the southern Rhône’s most illustrious wine villages: Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Sablet, and Séguret. Although an established producer in the region for decades, the acquisition of Domaine Chamfort in March 2010 by Vasco Perdigao and his wife Sonia set a new course for this property.

A young and passionate winemaker, Vasco has moved the property to sustainable viticulture and is transitioning Domaine Chamfort’s vineyards to all organic agriculture. By all accounts, Vasco Perdigao is a high energy guy who appears fanatically bent on producing exceptional wine from his vineyards in all three of the villages where he tends vines. Vacqueyras is Perdigao’s flagship wine, a deeply colored forceful Vacqueyras that can hold its own among many more illustrious names from nearby Châteauneuf-du-Pape. However, Perdigao’s Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Rasteau, Sablet (this month’s feature), and Séguret have all been elevated to cru status and are equally impressive in their own right. A combination of old vines, low yields, and excellent southeast exposures result in distinctive, full-bodied Côtes-du-Rhônes. And, to Perdigao’s credit, each of his wines exudes a unique flavor profile, which reflects the critical interplay between the artist as winemaker and each vineyard’s distinct terroir. The results have been the ever-growing number of medals and recognition afforded Domaine Chamfort.

The Rhône River makes a hasty exit from Switzerland’s Lac Leman, better known to Americans as Lake Geneva, and cuts a swift path through southern France to the Mediterranean Sea. As a source of many of France’s greatest wines, the wine growing region of the Rhône Valley begins just south of Lyon around the city of Vienne and terminates far south, near Aix-en-Provence. The length of the river allows for two quite distinct wine producing sub-regions in the Rhône Valley; one north and the other south. In the Northern Rhône, one finds granite and gneiss based soils, coupled with a continental climate. Here, Syrah is king of the cultivars, where it reigns as the only permitted red variety. The Northern Rhône is home to such illustrious wines as Côte Rôtie and Hermitage, among others. Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier are the permitted white grape varieties in the Northern Rhône. The wines of the Northern Rhône tend to be highly structured and firm, and often capable of great aging.

The Southern Rhône sub-region announces a warmer Mediterranean climate with substantially varied terroirs. Here alluvium, sand, limestone, marl, pebbles, large flat stones known as galets, and more are found. Grenache is the dominant red variety, but there is an incredible wealth of supporting cultivars used for blending, among them Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, and Carignan. The wines of the Southern Rhône are often aromatic and beautifully perfumed, juicy, supple in texture, and endowed with considerable weight. Red wines dominate the production in the Southern Rhône. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and Côtes-du-Rhônes, especially from the prized villages of Cairanne, Rasteau, Sablet, and Séguret, are the names to look for, but one should not discount the wonderful rosé and white wines that increasingly flow from the Southern Rhône. Grenache remains the mainstay for rosé, while Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier yield the region’s finest white wines.