© 2004, Jon-David Headrick Selections, LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

                       stunningly beautiful places in Europe, the Luberon is a lavender-scented, sunflower-dotted region home to simple cabanas and multi-million dollar restored farmhouses.  It also happens to be home to some of the most impressive parcels of Syrah and Grenache in the Rhone Valley.  Just south of the Southern Rhone appellations of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rasteau, and Gigondas, the Luberon varies from galet-strewn vineyards similar to those in Chateauneuf to hillside parcels of sun-washed Grenache planted early in the last century.  Unfortunately, over-cropping has led to wines that have often not shown the true potential of this region that has been producing wine since Roman times.

 

Having been frustrated with many of the wines emerging from this area, yet knowing the potential that it held, it was important to me to source a wine from the Luberon that presented the warm, generous flavors of the region in a bottling that could be affordable enough to buy by the case.  As such, Le Paradou is a custom cuvée for Jon-David Headrick Selections of Syrah and Grenache created with the help of my good friend Fréderic Chaudière, from parcels near the town of Apt.  The vines, ranging in age between 40 and 60 years old, are cultivated in accordance with the laws of Terra Vitis, an organization that ensures that properties respect the environment in which the vines are grown and stresses the benefits of integrated farming. 

The cuvée is created exclusively from estate-grown fruit and sees no wood before bottling to ensure that the vibrancy of the fruit of this area shines through.  After a pre-crush triage, the wine ferments and rests in tank until April/May of the following year.  The Grenache in this cuvée conjures up the deep, dark fruit aromas of areas such as Rasteau and the Cotes du Ventoux while the spicy Syrah adds another layer of complexity to this mouth-filling red. 

 

The name of the cuvée comes from a centuries-old farmhouse situated in one of the most lovely areas of Provence.  This old mas (as old stone farmhouses are often referred to in Provence) seemed to me to be the essence of this sun-dappled region, with its terrace overlooking an olive grove and rows and rows of Grenache.  On late fall evenings, just as the season is becoming chilly enough to warrant a light sweater, there is not much that beats sitting on such a terrace with a glass of spicy Cotes du Luberon, some local tapenade, and a good friend.  I think Le Paradou is the perfect wine for the job. 

cotes du luberon “le paradou”

 

Cépage:               80% Grenache, 20% Syrah

Vinification:        Long maceration and extensive                               pigeage.

Élevage:              100% tank until April/May.

Vineyard:            40-60 year old vines from parcels

                          near the town of Apt. 

Frederic Chaudiere