Domaine Marcel Richaud Cairanne Rouge 2021
Domaine Marcel Richaud
Marcel Richaud is one of the Southern Rhône's most important vignerons, farming organically and biodynamically for decades before it was fashionable. This Cairanne delivers a transparent window into the limestone and clay terroir of the appellation with a purity that belies its modest price. One of the great values in French wine.
Kit Aromas
Nose
Dark cherry and crushed blackcurrant mingle with dried garrigue herbs and a savory, earthy minerality. There's a floral lift — violets and dried rose — and a faint cedar note that adds elegance.
Palate
Medium to full-bodied, with concentrated berry fruit balanced by fine-grained tannins and a stony, mineral-driven core. The mid-palate reveals herbal complexity — mint, thyme — and a subtle gamey undertone that speaks to old-vine Grenache.
Finish
Long and savory, with blackcurrant, cedar, and a lingering stony minerality.
- Varietal
- Grenache
- Blend
- Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Carignan
- Vineyards
- Old vines across multiple parcels in Cairanne, limestone and clay soils
- Alcohol
- 14.0%
- Organic / Biodynamic
- No
Food Pairing
The slow-braised lamb's richness and herbal crust mirror the wine's gamey undertone and garrigue character, while the fruit concentration stands up to the meat's depth.
Marcel Richaud has farmed his family's old Grenache and Mourvèdre vines in Cairanne since the 1970s, adopting organic and biodynamic practices early on and producing wines of startling purity that helped elevate Cairanne to its own cru status.
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