La Tangente (BONNETON) Petit Prince 2023
Petit Prince is one of the southern-leaning blends in Patricia and Rémi Bonneton's La Tangente négociant range, combining Carignan, Cinsault and Grenache from organic growers across Gard, Vaucluse and southern Ardèche. The vinification is unusually deliberate for a négoce wine: Cinsault and Carignan undergo whole-bunch maceration for around 10 days before being blended with gently-extracted Grenache, then aged 7 months in steel and 10 months in old foudre. Cellar protocol holds: native yeasts, no chemical additives, no added SO2, no fining or filtration. 13% alcohol; the wine reads in three phases (initial freshness, riper raisinated mid-palate, tertiary barrel character) and offers genuine structure for a négoce bottling.
Blend of saignée (Grenache) and whole-bunch macerations of Cinsault and Carignan. Gentle foot treading followed by light pigeage in an infusion style over ~10 days.