2020 Château La Borie Cinsault

Rhône, France

100% Cinsault. Organic. Hand-harvested. Fermented and aged briefly in concrete vats at low temperature.

In the heart of the Southern Rhône Valley, between forests, truffles and lavender fields, La Borie is a single-block estate and one of the few in the Rhône Valley to bear the château appellation. The domain was the advanced bastion of the medieval Château de Suze-La-Rousse to which it was linked by long underground galleries dug by the Templars.

This is a fun and fresh example of cinsault, one of the few wines the Knapps have featured in a single variety wine. Picked younger in early September and aged in tank, you’ll see vibrant cherry and red fruits charge through the front palate, before mellowing out with fresh clove and touches of cured meat. Superbly smashable, outrageously affordable Rhône red.

Pair this wine as you would a Beaujolais or other light red. You can even put a slight chill on it and enjoy it on a hot day…Think grilled or roasted white meat. It can even be served alongside rich fish dishes like salmon or halibut, as well as creamy pasta dishes, anything with mushrooms, burgers, kabobs, hummus…

Chateau La Borie is dedicated to making wines traditionally and naturally, with as little intervention as possible. Raphael Knapp has owned the estate since 2018 after 15 years in California where he imported natural wines from France and Italy. Chateau La Borie started a conversion to organic farming in 2019. The goal of the estate is to showcase the vibrant and pure flavors inherent in our estate-grown grapes. Red grapes are Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Marselan. White grapes are Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc, Viognier, Clairette, Rolle, Picpoul, Marsanne and Roussane.