Domaine Gramenon
Montbrison-sur-Lez,
Southern Rhone
Always considered kind of a secret, these are well known in Rhone wine circles. If you have never heard of Gramenon and like Rhone wines, definitely check these out! These are very tightly allocated by Kermit Lynch so we only see very small amounts of most of their wines (6-12 bottles each)! The Poignee de Raisins is their biggest production and most affordable wine - we carry it regularly until it is gone (4-5 months at most) and it comes in at under $30! There are GREAT scores and notes on all of these!
*There are discounts on each wine listed below to mix and match to get the deepest deal. The discount is indicated on each product page and can be combined.
Grenache based
‘Poignee de Raisins’ 92pts
‘La Sagesse’ 95pts
‘La Papesse’ 96pts
Syrah based
‘Sierra du Sud’ 94pts
‘L’Emouvante’ 96pts
Domaine Gramenon, located at the northern most border of the Southern Rhône region in the small town of Montbrison-sur-Lez, falls into Cotes-du-Rhone appellation for most of its wines. The domaine is relatively new in comparison to most old world wineries, founded in 1990 by Phillipe and Michelle Aubery-Laurent. Right from the start, their star rose quickly as the upstarts in a “no mans land” making world class wines as good as or better than Chateauneuf du Pape, the standard bearer for Grenache based wines. Chateauneuf is just an hours drive south! Gramenon’s reputation is for concentrated, complex wines that carry a refined elegance and freshness made from old vine vineyards producing gorgeously ripe fruit.
The Style
The red wines are deep, aromatic, and complex iterations of the classic Rhone grapes: grenache, syrah, mourvedre, and some cinsault. The reds are classically Southern Rhone, deep red to black fruits that are fresh and vibrant, with classic notes of lavender and garrigue, with subtle spice notes, all notes the southern Rhone is so well known for. They hover in the 13-14% range for alcohols, quite the achievement. The whites they make are of particular interest as they are quite rare. The Viognier they make displays the character and complexity the grape is most known for but with a fresher spin on the palate with less of the oily texture it is known for. Irresistible now, you can get into the red wines in their youth with a decant.
The beauty with these wines is they are perfectly ripe and balanced, nothing is overdone. While the reds are smoke shows with ripe, dense, dark red fruits, they avoid the trap of most wines from warm growing regions: they achieve masterful balance by not being over-the-top or jammy. Great farming, well timed and intuitive picking, and excellent terroir (old vines and the right soils) all work together to achieve this.
2023 ‘Vie On y Est’ Blanc
JLL 3 stars
40% Viognier
40% Clairette
20% Bourboulenc
$37.99 on 4+*
$39.99 reg US LOW
*(mix & match ok)
JLL 3 stars (John Livingstone-Learmonth)
yellow robe; peach-nectarine mix on the nose, dried fruits. The palate has nerve, alacrity on the attack, a steady level of gras, extends with a sound delivery of content, shows the aniseed of Clairette towards the finish. This is table wine, has some firmness. 40% Viognier, 40% Clairette blanche/rose, 20% Bourboulenc. Drink now through 2027. - Feb 2024
Typically 40-50% Viognier, 40-50% Clairette blanche, 10-20% Bourboulenc, though sometimes it is 100% viognier. From clay-limestone soils, fermented and raised in 4-8 year-old used 228-litre oak casks for 6 months, malo somtimes completed, no lees stirring - “lees stirring would make the wine too heavy”, 50 mg SO2 applied, 4,500-5,200 b
Wine-making process: Sorted manual picking. Fermentation with natural yeasts in barrels. Blocked malolactic fermentation depending on vintages.
Aging: 6 months in barrels without racking.
2023 ‘Poignee de Raisins’
92D / JLL 3.5 stars
90% Grenache / 10% Cinsault
$29.99 on 4+*
$31.99 reg
*(mix & match ok on 4)
92 points Decanter
“Good depth of colour. Captures all that juicy, exuberant young-vine Grenache fruit. Fresh and easygoing, this is soft and juicy, with velvety tannins. Such a lovely, appealing, friendly wine. Full of fruit, with a gentle structure. It’s ripe but not jammy, and very well balanced, with no access alcohol. Plenty of of whole bunches, from vines aged five to 40 years; grapes are lightly crushed, 12-15 days maceration, one pumpover per day, matured in concrete, sulphited only after malolactic, no other corrections.(MW)” (11/2024)
JLL 3.5 stars
steady red colour; the nose is a combo of raspberry and blackberry, is upfront, carries a little sweetness. The palate presents a good flow of black fruit, with juiced freedom, fruit bursts, holds fine grain tannins, leads into a solid close, the length sound. It needs another nine months. 90% Gren, 10% Cins. From 2025. 2029-30 Feb 2024
90-100% Grenache (late 1970s-late 1990s), 0-10% Syrah, 0-10% Cinsault, from notably clay, some limestone soils, 75% destemmed, 12-15 day vinification, daily pumping overs, 25% vinified by maceration carbonique, concrete vat raised 5-6 months, pumping overs, unfined, unfiltered, 1 gm/hl sulphur only at bottling, organic, biodynamic wine, “drink with salads, crudités, grills, lamb”, 18-20,000 b
This wine brings a BIG smile to my face, the Poignee de Raisin is the epitome of satisfaction and is just utterly delicious! You would have to be in pretty bad despair not to enjoy this cheerful and delicious number that punches over it’s weight class a few levels! A chateauneuf in all but name!
LIMITED
2023 ‘Sierra du Sud’
94D / JLL 4 stars
100% Syrah
$34.99 on 4+*
$36.99 reg US Low
*(mix & match ok)
94 points Decanter
" Reductive, but also exuberantly fruity, with blackberry and cassis aromas, lifted by a lot of VA – a touch balsamic. Pure, punchy Syrah fruit, very fresh, and the Grenache adds a welcome touch of generosity to the mid palate. Explosively flavoursome, with lovely acidity, very fine and expressive. Decant this. Macerated for 12-15 days, one pumpover per day. Raised in concrete, sulphites after malolactic, no other corrections. Contains 10% Grenache for the first time (previously it was pure Syrah), which adds some weight to the mid-palate.(MW)" (11/2024)
JLL 4 stars
(vat, bottling April 2024) dark robe; this has a good, alert nose, clear black fruit in it, good lift and near bounce in its presentation. The palate shows a hint of acetate, gives channelled black fruits, extends with fresh/live tannins, black cherry fruit on the loose, running around. It has structure and potential. The tannins have a wee furry side but are on their way inside the wine. Menthol on the aftertaste is clear. From spring 2025. 2033-34 Feb 2024
90-100% Syrah from clay-limestone with one sandy plot at 330 metres around the domaine on Gramenon at Montbrison, 0-10% Grenache, about 50-65% destemmed, 2 week vinification, pumping overs, 20-25 mg SO2 applied after malo, aged concrete vat (until early 2010s aged 4-10 year 228 & 225-litre oak casks 6-8 months) 6-8 months, unfined, unfiltered, biodynamic grapes, organic wine.
2023 ‘La Sagesse’
95D / JLL 4.5 stars
100% Grenache
$42.99 on 4+*
$44.99 reg US LOW
*(mix & match ok)
95 pts Decanter
Barrel sample, so a provisional score. This is darkly coloured for a pure Grenache. Damson and black cherry fruit, and a touch earthy. It’s concentrated, mouthcoating, silky, pure and juicy. The structure is remarkably intense – the acidity and the bold (if not tight) tannic frame. There’s a touch of looseness to the tannins, in a positive sense. It’s an impressive wine with great length and it will age very well. The alcohol is generous but not excessive for a pure Grenache. From 45- to 80-year-old vines, 100% whole bunches; lightly crushed, 15-20 days maceration, only pumpovers, no punching down, temperature controlled, matured in demi-muids and some concrete eggs for 12 months. To be revisited in bottle before any definitive conclusions can be made on the final wine.
JLL 4.5 stars
dark robe; the nose is promising, black fruit gums, a discreet aroma, is oily, nicely grapey, a serene and stylish opening. The palate is also stylish from the off, holds suave content, bears sève [sap] from the old vines and good gras, extends with notably fine powder-sand tannins, is well orchestrated, up there on quality, is very good, top tack. From mid 2024 to 2034-36.Feb 2024
100% Grenache (1950s-1970s, 2010s massale cuttings from 1910s Grenache) on Gobelet and wire training, from 3 plots at Gramenon behind the house - very limestone with clay, clay-limestone, sand, “our plus beau terroir,” Michèle A-L, 50-80% destemmed, 3 week vinification, pumping overs, 1 or 2 cap punchings, sometimes 1 x part vat emptying/refilling at end (2023), 20-25 mg SO2 applied after malo, aged 15% 18 hl egg (since 2018), 85% 8-12 year 600-litre oak casks 12 months (before late 2010s aged 4-10 year 228 & 225-litre oak casks 12 months, until late 2000s was aged 50% concrete vat, 50% 5-10 year 228 & 225-litre oak casks 8 months), unfined, unfiltered
LIMITED
2023 ‘La Papesse’
96D / JLL 4 stars
90% Grenache/10% Syrah
$52.99 on 4+*
$54.99 reg US LOW
*(mix & match ok)
96 pts Decanter
Barrel sample, so a provisional score. Darker and straighter in aroma than La Sagesse, with more liquorice fruit. Powerful and full-bodied but not massive. The tannins are very silky but they have extraordinary grip. This has huge depth and concentration, with a long finish. It’s a dark wine, deep and mysterious. There’s a saline edge to the finish, with very fresh tannins. Grapes are lightly crushed, followed by 15-20 days fermentation, only pumpovers, no punching down, with temperatures controlled; maturation in demi-muids and some concrete eggs for one year. Vinsobres terroir, 50- to 70-year-old vines. All whole bunches. Clay limestone soils with some galets roulés. To be revisited in bottle before any definitive conclusions can be made on the final wine.
JLL 4 stars
(casks, bottling Sept 2024) quite full red; the nose has a curvy air of blackberry fruit, with life in it, a hint of dried flowers, pot-pourri. The palate is thickly juiced on attack, digs in along the palate, shows vintage conditions, is very sealed, almost robust. The tannins fit in, are dense. This is waiting, very full wine. From late-2025, not earlier. 2035-37 Feb 2024
90-100% Grenache (1930s) from a plot next to Les Laurentides on white galet stone covered clay-limestone soils at 350-400 metres, from 2020 10% Syrah “to bring a bit of finesse, to calm the Grenache that can be a bit violent, high degree”, whole bunch fermentation in an open wood vat, 2-3 week vinification, daily pumping overs, can do cap punchings, sometimes 1 x part vat emptying/refilling at end (2023), aged 75% 5-10 year 600-litre oak casks, 25% 12 hl jars 8-10 months (jars since late 2010s), unfined, unfiltered, 4,500 b
VERY LIMITED
2023 ‘L’Emouvante’
96D / JLL 4.5 stars
100% Syrah
$51.99 on 4+*
$54.99 reg US LOW
*(mix & match ok)
Just 12 bottles available
(priority will go to wider buyers of all wines in this offer)
96 pts Decanter
Barrel sample, so a provisional score. Lovely nose – so floral and herbal, no reduction. Black olives and dark chocolate. It’s full and silky, with no angularity to the tannins. Good acidity; it’s a very structural wine that needs some time to settle and harmonise – or drink it young if you love cleansing tannins. From vines more than 40 years old, planted on the domaine’s finest terroir in Vinsobres. Pure Syrah, all whole bunches, three months maceration. Aged in used demi-muids for 12 months.
JLL 4.5 stars
dark robe; the nose gives a prolonged aroma with a core of blackberry, a hint of salt and violet. The palate achieves an offer of sève [old vine sap], with finesse of texture, oiliness, and really good reach on it, proper length here - wow, it really motors into the finish. The balance is decent, too - it’s serious table wine. From spring 2025. 2037-39 Feb 2024
100% Syrah (mid-1980s) from gravel, limestone with clay soils at 350 metres on the plateau of Montbrison, whole bunch fermentation, a small crush, a 6 month steel vat maceration, then raised used 228-litre oak casks 6 months, unfined, unfiltered, no SO2, made in 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, “it’s to best express the terroir, and avoid the climate effect being too great on the Syrah; the stems change the form of the wine”, organic, biodynamic wine, 2,000b