Wineshark Wine Tasting - Domaine de Coyeux

I visited this estate back in summer 2018. Arriving in late morning, the first thing that caught my attention was the ragged peaks on the back of the vineyards, the famous Dentelles de Montmirail.

Going inside the visitor centre, the team gave us a brief background of the domaine and the region. The origin of the vineyards of Beaume-de-Venise is very old; the history of its wine can be traced back to 600 BC when a Greek community moved into the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail.

The first vines from Domaine de Coyeux dated back to the 1950s, and the estate was taken over in 2013 by Hugues de Feraudy, whose family was already established in Vaucluse in the 10th century. Located on the southern side of Dentelles de Montmirail, the domaine is comprised of one continuous area of 112 hectares.

The estate has very well-known Trias soil types characterized by pores filled with clay which capture the winter water from the soil, which is released in the summer, nourishing the root system of the vines and the grapes.

Planted in an ideal location, the mountains of Coyeux also provide air currents which bring freshness in the summer, contributing to the healthy grapes and its delicate aromatic wines. The climate is dominated by the famous mistral winds too.

We personally felt that with the cool breeze on the day. Coming from the north, this wind occurs only a few hours after a rainfall, leaving time for the vines to absorb its benefits while minimizing the risks of the proliferation of parasites by rapidly drying the foliage.

When asked whether we were interested to go out to the vineyards, of course we would not pass this great opportunity. Riding on the jeep we went out to look at the different plots. A good wine is made in the vineyard, requiring healthy soil modified only by respectful contributions to the environment, with the grape varieties adapted to the soil and climate.

The domaine grows Muscat Petit Grain for the whites, and Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre for the reds. The vines with excess buds and leaves are removed in the spring to aerate the strains and increase the leaf surface area exposed to the sun. De-budding is done to reduce grape production and improves the concentration of aromas.

The soils are living, where microbial life creates organic soil enrichment through its regular twisted paths, and the healthy conditions of altitude, exposure and climate allow for gentle methods necessary to the agriculture to maintain the vineyard's perfect health.

The harvest is decided in consultation between their winemaker Alain Sigaud and Xavier Vignon, renowned oenologist in charge of the production of the wines, spreading over 20 days generally. Each plot is harvested by hand, according to its maturity, several times if necessary, by harvesters who separate the grapes so as to select only those that are mature and perfectly healthy.

The wine-making process is the culmination of a year of work in the vineyards. Arnaud Immele, the international specialist in wine production without sulfite, lends his expertise to the estate to bring the vine to the glass.

Returning to the tasting room we sampled all the wines in the portfolio. I was most impressed by their Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. In fact I had tasted their 2005 vintage in 2011 and still remembered how inexpensive it was, offering a fantastic value for money.

This is the jewel of the estate, produced on various contiguous plots grouped together on 42 hectares. The production is in the range of 25 hl/ha, with the oldest vines reaching 65 years old. Each year the estate produces approximately 140,000 bottles of this sweet Muscat wine from the unique Muscat Petit Grain, which possesses the characteristics of splitting into two varieties: one with black berries and the other with golden berries.

During the hand harvest, the grapes are sorted and put in crates to avoid crushing the berries and oxidation, with the grapes sent at regular intervals to the cellar. Sorted again on tables, the grapes are then destalked before being pressed.

Converted to must, it is then immediately transferred to stainless steel vats. These vats are thermo-regulated at low temperatures (4-6 degree Celsius) in order to preserve the extraction of aromas. The fermentation process usually lasts two to four weeks.

When the time comes, the fermentation is stopped by addition of alcohol to the must to obtain a wine with an alcohol level of about 15% and a concentration of 110 g/litre of residual sugar. Different vintages are made according to the plots of land, the age of the vines, and maturity of grapes. Then the wines are blended at the end of winter.

The raising of naturally sweet Muscat wines includes an aging period of a few months, in stainless steel vats at a constant temperature, to which is added a second period of 6 to 8 months in the bottle.

After tasted the current vintage of 2009, we were asked whether we were like to try the older vintage of 1985. Jumping up in delight, we sampled the wine and it was amazing, even more so after seeing the price tag, and so I decided to buy a bottle to take home to enjoy in a later time.

So here we are. May 2020. Opening this 35-year-old Muscat-de-Beaumes-de-Venise at home. Still fresh and vibrant, the wine has a wonderful fruit and floral aromas, reminiscent of orange marmalade, quince, pineapple and apricot, with honey and sultana notes permeating. Sweet but not cloying, the good acidity helps to balance it beautifully. The wine is strong in alcohol so it is important to pace yourself. Overall it is a very good wine, and buying it at only HK$ 440 it was a real bargain.