2019 Pedres Blanques, VdF Rouge

The 2019 Pedres Blanques VdF Rouge is a focused expression of Grenache from Rié and Hirofumi Shoji, who farm 3. 5 hectares of 30-to-50-year-old vines high above Collioure. Situated at 250–300 meters on rugged schist and granite soils, the site’s extreme exposure to the Tramontane wind necessitates manual, organic stewardship while ensuring consistent vine health. To preserve the site’s inherent tension, the winemakers utilize a 100% whole-cluster fermentation with ambient yeasts, followed by a gravity-fed aging process in a mix of neutral vessels. The 2019 growing season’s specific heat-driven stress and late-summer rainfall resulted in concentrated, smaller-berried fruit, yielding a wine defined by structural nerve, fine-grained tannins, and a persistent, mineral-driven finish.