| Don't Miss this Limited Offer from the Rhône Valley's Most Important Winemaker: Éric Texier! |
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| Setting Sites in Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
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Éric Texier has built his reputation on producing high-quality, terroir-driven wines. Born in Bordeaux and raised in the Rhône Valley, Éric always had a deep appreciation for the region's wines. After attending University, he began his career as a nuclear engineer. As the years passed, and with an increasingly generous income feeding a growing fascination with wine, Éric started collecting bottles from local vignerons, including the Northern Rhône icons Raymond Trollat and Marcel Juge.
Soon, Éric became especially fascinated with the traditional techniques responsible for producing his favorite wines—keep in mind this was during an era when over-ripeness, destemming, new oak and general “point chasing” was dramatically redefining the character of Rhône wines. So, when Éric eventually left his career in nuclear engineering to pursue a life dedicated to wine, he aimed straight for arch-traditionalism and greatness: his first cellar position was under the wing of icon Jean-Marie Guffens at southern Burgundy’s Domaine Verget. |
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By the 1990’s, Éric was bottling his own wines. Rather than own his own vineyards in one specific site, Éric sources fruit from a variety of sub-zones in the Rhône and Burgundy, from humble and lesser-known sites to grand parcels in Côte Rôtie and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This is one of the factors that sets Texier apart from other winemakers--unique sites and old vines which he uses to produce wines that express the true character of the terroir. He put the almost extinct regions of Brézème and Saint Julien en Saint Alban on the map and is one of a handful of winemakers who still use manual labour and traditional methods to make his wine. As a result, Eric Texier's wines are some of the most distinctive and sought-after in all of France. |
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The vast majority of Texier's wines come from the vineyards of Brézème and the Ouvèze valley, which are managed by his son Martin. They also produce a small amount of Côte Rôtie and both a red and white Châteauneuf du Pape. They also source grapes from friends who share their commitment to traditional viticulture (no synthetic chemicals or mechanical intervention in the vineyards).
In addition to managing their own vineyards, they also sell grapes to several negociants in the Rhône Valley. Their goal is always to produce the best possible wine, regardless of whether it comes from their own vineyards or someone else's. |
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| FULL OFFER AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER |
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| | The wilder of Syrah
Syrah from a cold climate. The balance is taut, with bright acidity and grippy tannins. Vivid aromas of blackberry and black cherry with hints of sage and earth. The palate is deep and textured with black fruits and a striking minerality.
Available in magnums $80.96/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| | 2016 Brézème Vieille Serine |
| The nobility of the old vines
A strong personality marked by both the style of Brézème and the power of old vine Syrah, a signature Northern Rhône wine for Texier. The acidity is marked, giving the wine incredible aging potential. It gains in suppleness, refinement, and complexity with time.
Available in magnums $98.96/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| | 2019 Saint-Julien en Saint-Alban |
| Spicy and radiant Syrah
Mineral and spicy with classic notes of Syrah. Pure, full-bodied and beautifully transparent in personality. Dark berries, underbrush and violets.
2017 Available in magnums $64.76/btl + hst (6pks) | |
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| | 2016 Saint-Julien en Saint-Alban Vieille Serine |
| 70 year old Serine on Gneiss, the magic of the Northern Rhône A deep, generous, and complex wine with a classic Syrah profile. Black cherry fruit, peppercorn and braised meat. Fine, structured and grippy with Texier's signature purity. To be discovered now and rediscovered in 10 years (lots of life left!)
2014 Available in magnums $91.76/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| | 2020 Le Clau Vieille Serine |
| Ancestral Ardèche Syrah
Le Claus represents only a few rows from a plot of old vines in Ardèche. Its very particular ampelographic characteristics distinguish it from the Serines of other northern vineyards, notably by its low alcoholic degrees at full maturity. This hyper-rare bottling is brighter and fresher than Syrahs from the same area, with pepper and spearmint on the nose and finish. A medium-bodied palate that is a sumptuous dance between plummy fruit and more thorny, brambly acidity. Gorgeous.
Available in magnums $122.36/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| | The ideal, playful Rhône in white Mostly Clairette with a bit of Marsanne. Bright aromas of apple, peach, citrus peel, bergamot and jasmine. On the palate it's fresh and rounded with a long finish. A staff favourite! | |
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| | Purity of terroir
Made from young vines on limestone soils that are rare in this part of the Rhône. A wine of character and complexity, with notes of pear, tropical fruit, and subtle almond and spice. Creamy on the mid-palate with great length on the finish. | |
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| | 2019 Brézème Vieille Roussette |
| The profile of a great Northern Rhône white (100% Roussanne, the old local name is Rousette)
The brightness and brilliance of the vintage make this wine approachable when young, with magnificent aging potential. 50% of the grapes are directly pressed and then fermented and aged in old demi-muids. The other 50% are fermented with the skins in amphora for 2 months, and then aged in the same amphora. After 12 months of ageing Éric blends the wines and leave them for a couple of months before bottling. Classic vintage, very mineral and with great depth.
2018 Available in magnums $104.36/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| | 2020 Les Chailles Roussanne |
| Precision and elegance
Exceptional cuvée with great purity and intensity, all the splendor of the Roussanne in Brézème. Direct press, fermented and aged in 300 liter cheramic eggs. Bottled by hand after 15 months. Only 600 bottles produced.
Available in magnums $122.36/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc |
| “Along with Château Rayas, Éric Texier is one of an extremely short and ever-shrinking list of top producers bottling truly traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. This is a deeply fascinating bottle, from an equally fascinating man."
"Éric Texier’s approach in producing the mere 100 cases of this wine is an exercise in traditionalism and anti-technology. After harvesting at modest ripeness, he deliberately oxidizes the must for 48 hours. The juice is separated from the heavy lees (sediment) before being fermented exclusively with wild, airborne yeasts in 450-liter neutral French oak demi-muids. Following fermentation, the wine ages for 15 months on its “fine” lees while completing malolactic fermentation (which accentuates texture, minerality, and depth at the expense of zingy acidity and neon fruit aromatics). In short, almost every aspect of this wine’s production runs in direct opposition to conventional winemaking techniques in the Rhône Valley." - Ian Cauble, MS
Available in magnums $167.36/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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| 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape VV |
| The Pedigree and power of old Grenache vines
The sun and fruit; the joy of the Mediterranean. Made mostly of Grenache which comes from La Crau, a north-facing vineyard in the NE of the appellation, where the tannins reach phenolic ripeness slowly but surely and without an overwhelmingly high alcohol level. Many of the vines are 70 years old or more. The Mourvèdre comes from head-pruned vineyard harvested relatively early to contribute acidity to the wine's structure. Whole clusters are fermented with native yeasts. The wine is aged in old oak barrels and bottled unfiltered.
Aromatically complex and lovely, not heavy or over-extracted with fabulous density and length on the palate. The structure of this wine allows it to evolve for another 10 years.
2014 available in magnums $158.36/btl + hst (6pk) | |
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750ml 2020 Brézème - $40.95/btl + hst (12pk) 2016 Brézème Vieille Serine - $51.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2019 Saint-Julien en Saint-Alban - $34.95/btl + hst (12pk) 2016 Saint-Julien en Saint-Alban Vieille Serine - $49.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2020 Le Clau Vieille Serine - $69.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape VV $94.95/btl + hst (6pk) - 2021 Adèle - $29.95/btl + hst (12pk) 2018 Brézème Roussanne - $49.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2019 Brézème Vieille Roussette - $65.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2020 Les Chailles Roussanne - $69.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - $94.95/btl + hst (6pk)
MAGNUMS 2020 Brézème - $89.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2013 Brézème Vieille Serine - $109.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2017 Saint-Julien en Saint-Alban - $71.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2014 Saint-Julien en Saint-Alban Vieille Serine - $101.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2020 Le Clau Vieille Serine - $135.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape VV - $175.95/btl + hst (6pk) - 2018 Brézème Vieille Roussette - $115.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2016 Saint Julien en Saint Alban V. Marsanne - $104.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2020 Les Chailles Roussanne VDF - $135.95/btl + hst (6pk) 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape VV blanc - $185.95/btl + hst (6pk) |
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