Famille Mayard Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau De Ma Mere
$67.00
Vignobles Mayard, nestled in the heart of the prestigious village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is a family run estate with a long history in the appellation. At the end of the 19th century, when phylloxera had all but destroyed his vineyards, Gratien Mayard contemplated moving to the United States and starting over. But his devotion eventually won out and instead he chose to stay and re-plant his vineyards, vine by vine. Today the estate is run by fifth generation winemaker Françoise Roumieux along with her sister Béatrice and brother Didier. The family began organic conversion in 2017 and obtained certification in 2020. When walking through the vineyards, the famed carpet of galets roulés (rolling rocks) - the remnants of Alpine glaciers that have been rounded over millennia by the Rhône river - are underfoot but no longer visible due to the incredible vegetation growing in and around the vines. In response to rising temperatures and the regular threat of draught, Francois Mayard made the bold decision to cease tillage of her vineyards and increase both wild and seeded plant-life growing among the vines. Planted just after the phylloxera outbreak of 1866, this parcel was named by their father for their paternal grandmother, Marie-Louise Mayard. Having not known their grandmother, sisters Françoise and Béatrice decided to pay homage to her by also naming this cuvée after her. The wine has a complex floral bouquet and intense dark fruit flavors on the palate.