2019 Domaine Treloar Côtes du Roussillon ‘Le Ciel Vide’

45% Grenache, 45% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre from 25 acres of dry farmed vines in Trouillas. Hand harvested, fermented with native yeasts and aged simply in stainless steel. Bottled without fining or filtration. 14.5% alcohol. 

Treloar is a Celtic name, closely associated with Cornwall, where all manner of town names begin with the prefix Tre. It’s Jonathan Hesford’s wife Rachel’s family name. She was born in New Zealand and (to really confuse the issue) has Maori mixed up with her Celtic ancestry. Treloar’s logo is a reflection of that heritage. Jonathan himself comes from Yorkshire. At a young age, he became fascinated with wine, but worked in IT, a career that eventually took Rachel and him to Manhattan. They lived in Battery Park City, a block from the Twin Towers, and they witnessed everything on 9/11. So they took stock of their lives, of what was important. They moved to New Zealand, where Jonathan enrolled in an enology and viticulture program. Upon graduating at the top of his class, he committed himself to a life of agriculture. His first job was as assistant winemaker at Neudorf Vineyards. In 2006, they purchased an ancient domaine in the village of Trouillas, in an area known as Les Aspres, tight up against the Pyrenees. From the start, they’ve aimed to make wine with little intervention. They focus on local varieties, work as organically as possible, using only organic fertilizers and no herbicides, and rely on superb fruit and smart decisions in the cellar to make authentic wines of Roussillon. The domaine has no permanent employees, no consultants; Jonathan and Rachel do pretty much everything themselves. They farm 25 acres of vines in nine parcels scattered about Trouillas, each within a nice walk from the winery. The vines are not irrigated, and the harvest is all by hand. Annual production is less than 3,000 cases.

91 points, Wine Enthusiast. "This wine is supple and powerful at the same time. Raspberry red fruit dives into black plum and strawberry on the nose followed by rose hip and black-cherry skin. The palate is well-integrated and balanced with every part of the wine at equilibrium."