In 1989 Grange des Péres' Laurent Vaillé bought land in the Languedoc and used dynamite to blast into rock hard limestone.
Things were never the same.
Besides dynamite, Vaillé also carried a very impressive resume. He had spent time working with JF Coche, Gerard Chave, and Trévallon's Eloi Durrbach. Sadly, Laurent Vaillé passed away in 2021 and the wine world lost one of its great visionaries.
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For the most part, the Languedoc was a wine factory pumping out everyday and often, crudely produced wines. Vaillé brought a radically different sensibility and ambition. In no time, the wines assumed a place on the world stage.
Along with Mas de Daumas Gassac, Grange des Péres is held as the rare truly noble wine of the Languedoc.
Compared to Mas de Daumas Gassac's Bordeaux-inspired austerity, Grange des Péres is famous for a seductive grandeur that's more akin to a luscious Côte-Rôtie. It's equal parts velvet and garrigue. The blend of Syrah, Mourvédre, Cabernet, and Counoise makes itself felt.
The 2018 boldly displays the layered, aristocratic, and mineral smack-down of Grange des Péres at its best. There's an explosive complexity of dark fruits, game, flowers, spice, subtle tarry notes, and a tension-inducing maritime minerality. Everything is so harmonious and finely calibrated that it's impossible not to discern the skillful winemaking at play.
Grange des Péres is a wine that redefined what was possible for a large swath of geography. Decades later, the wines haven't skipped a beat and remain some of the most provocative and simply compelling wines of southern France. The 2018 drives this home.
To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare
Crush Wine & Spirits
