Abbotts Delaunay - A Tire d'Aile rouge 2018

Laurent Delaunay has set up his winemaking facilities in Marseillette, a small wine-growing village not far from Carcassonne, and oenologist Vincent Charleux oversees them. These two enthusiasts of the Languedoc terroirs pool their talents to carefully select the vineyards, winemaking methods, blends, and aging processes. Laurent Delaunay, along with his wife Catherine—an oenologist like himself—had already founded Les-Jamelles in 1991, a line of wines made from remarkable grape varieties. In late 2015, they purchased the La Métairie d’Alon estate in Limoux with the goal of producing exceptional Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays on the beautiful high-altitude terroir of Magrie. The estate comprises 25 hectares cultivated using organic and biodynamic methods, divided into 25 plots, which allow for plot-specific selections and meticulously crafted cuvées. By the third vintage, their success was already evident. The “Solaire” Pinot Noir, produced on a north-facing clay plot, is breathtaking. This estate richly deserves a second star!

Born into a family of Burgundian winemakers and wine merchants, Laurent Delaunay, a winemaker, founded Badet Clément & Cie and then, in 2005, acquired the business founded in 1996 by Australian winemaker Nerida Abbott, creating Abbotts & Delaunay, a wine merchant and producer specializing in wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region. In 2015, Laurent Delaunay purchased the Métairie d’Alon estate—with its 25 hectares of organically farmed vineyards—from Jean-Louis Denois, a well-known winemaker from Limoux.

The Syrah-Grenache blend of the 2018 Corbières A Tire d'Aile seems to emphasize the Syrah side, with peppery aromas and notes of blueberry, garrigue, and crushed stone. Made in the same vein as the Minervois, it seems more complex but follows the same style; medium-bodied, supple, and ready to drink over the next few years. Just like its counterpart, it’s a fantastic value!