Producer | Les Darons |
Country | France |
Region | Languedoc Roussillon |
Subregion | Languedoc |
Varietal | Grenache |
Vintage | 2022 |
Sku | 60332 |
Size | 750ml |
Jeff Carrel is the Languedoc's self-proclaimed "eclectic winemaker," who owns neither a winery nor any vineyards, but crafts some of the best, and most interesting wines in Southern France. We love these wines because you are getting the top winemakers using estate vineyards, crafting authentic reds at the fraction of the price. Even Robert Parker's Wine Advocate says: "If it came from a more prestigious appellation in the southern Rhone, it would go for three times the price." His Les Darons is 75% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 5% Carignan sourced from estate vineyards at Chateau Arcades, and scored two 90+ ratings from The Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck. He calls the wine "Les Darons," a slang term for father or papa, and as the vineyards at Arcades are 45+ years old, the name seems fitting for this patriarchal wine. Eclectic or not, Carrel makes fabulous wine, and the Les Darons is a smooth, robust, pure expression of the Languedoc.