The most incredible Rhone find in years
Monday, April 11th, 2022
Dear friends,

This profoundly beautiful wine is priced is so low, it's simply absurd.

(Just like Saturday's Spanish sensation: 95pt Valderiz. Only 46 bottles left)

This is the most outrageously delicious and complex S. Rhone wine I've ever had at this price. It's sublime right now, and will evolve gracefully for another decade.

This one's for Burgundy lovers as well.

Please read on to see why.

Jean-Paul Daumen is the fifth generation owner and winemaker of La Vielle Julienne.

His family has owned the property since 1905, but it dates back to the 17th century.

He's had a small cult following by devout Rhone collectors for a while, but the word is quickly getting out about his wines, specifically his Chateauneufs.

See exhibits A and B below:
Vinovest just about tweeted their 100pt "Reserve" (no, we can't get any, sadly)
So what makes today's wine, their Côtes du Rhône Lieu-Dit Clavin so great?

This vineyard straddles the Northern border of Chateaunf-du-Pape, and was left out when the appellation boundary was drawn in the 1930s.


This is a photo of their vineyards at that boundary:
Jean-Paul Daumen, invests just as much talent and energy in making Clavin as he does in crafting his blue chip Châteauneufs.

La Vieille Julienne has the most unusual terroirs in CDP that's the opposite of all others. The soils are very sandy, and the climate is the coolest, being the most northern of the appellation. The results are intoxicatingly perfumed, extremely balanced and fine wines that deliver both deep richness along with fresh elegance.

This is the most outrageously delicious and complex Southern Rhone wine I've ever had at this price. It's sublime right now, and will evolve gracefully for another decade.

A familiar line here: I took the importer's entire stock to negotiate and offer the lowest price in the country for you.

It was only 22 cases, and there's certainly more than 22 of you that deserve this.

Please move fast!

Thank you for reading. Cheers!
—James
2018 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Cotes-du-Rhone 'Lieu-Dit Clavin'

91 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2018 Côtes du Rhône Lieu-Dit Clavin is a beauty and certainly plays in the realm of a rock-solid Châteauneuf in this vintage. Revealing a deeper ruby/purple color as well as a beautiful bouquet of black cherries, black licorice, peppery garrigue, and a touch of earthy minerality, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a beautifully layered, seamless texture, no hard edges, and a great finish. It certainly has some classic Vielle Julienne character, and I would be thrilled to have bottles in the cellar. It’s going to evolve nicely for 10-12 years.

While 2018 seemed to favor those with more clay soil, you’d never know that from tasting the wines from Jean-Paul Daumen, and his 2018s are unquestionably some of the finest in the vintage. The shocker was how well the Les Hauts-Lieux performed, and it’s a heavenly bottle of wine that’s every bit as good as the Reserve, although it shows a more mineral-laced, masculine style. As I’ve written in the past, there are few wines I’d rather drink than those of Vieille Julienne." (10/6/20)

  • Varietals: grenache noir, cinsault, syrah, mourvèdre, bourboulenc, clairette and white grenache
  • Vineyard Age: 85 Years on average
  • Alcohol: 14%
  • Cooperage: Aged 18 months in French Oak, 60% new
  • Farming: Biodynamic
  • 22 cases left
  • Lowest price in the country

List: $35.00 btl
Lowest Web: $30.00 btl
Ours:

  • $29.97 btl (1-5)
  • $27.97 btl (6-11)
  • $24.97 btl (12+)
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