Domaine Mayoussier Syrah
About the wine:
100% Syrah
2 weeks maceration, daily punch-down
Aged six months in neutral used oak barriques
Soil: galets roulés and alluvial
Production: 1200 bottles.
A fantastic wine for dinner in summer as much as winter, very versatile, but pairing beautifully with red meat and local food from the Dauphiné. It feels like right on the connection with the Mondeuse, which is a cousin of the Syrah. Carrying somehow similar spices and smoky notes without being ever heavy and big. Maybe, here again, the “pre-alpine” geographic position of the Domaine, between Rhone and the Alps? Or maybe it is just imagination, but it’s anyway a delicious feeling!
About the producer:
Domaine Mayoussier is a relatively new winery located in the Royans area, bordering the north of the Vercors mountain range in France. The area is interestingly situated between two great wine regions: the Northern Rhone area (Cornas, Tain-l’Hermitage, Saint-Joseph…) and the Savoie region (Combe de Savoie, Gresivaudan valley, the Chartreuse…).
The Domaine is a family business, run by Antoine Depierre who is taking care of both the vineyard and the cellar, on its family old property, a farm and castle whose first stones date from the 13th century. Antoine Depierre started the Domaine in 2012 after a first career working as sommelier and restaurant manager in London, Berlin, Miami and Dubai.
The Domaine produces today seven wines, four of which are actually produced in partnership with a grower located further south in the Drome department. The three others are from fruits from the Domaine. The Domaine is indeed still farming a rather limited surface of almost three hectares, which would not be enough for the project to be economically viable. Even if small, it offers a variety of soil of clayey-limestone, alluvials and galets-roulés.
The philosophy of Antoine Depierre is very much to respect nature, hence to not use machines but horses to work the soils, to follow organic practices, naturally banning pesticides and working by hand. The philosophy is also one of freedom and transparency, but not of standards or labels, hence not looking after any sort of certification and not caring too much for the long list of requirements from the appellations and other institutions