Domaine des Aphillantes Cote-du-Rhone

Daniel Boulle's domaine is at Travaillan, on the Plan de Dieu, a wide flat plain between Châteauneuf du Pape and Cairanne, Rasteau, Gigondas and Vacqueyras. The soil here is compsed of a limestone subsoil, covered with a thick layer of clay and in many parts a blanket of large pudding-bowl shaped quartz stones. This compostion makes for an interesting combination in a warm area such as the Southern Rhône. The limestone brings minerality which gives freshness and complexity; the clay holds water - very important for vine development in this dry area, whilst the quartz stones absorb the heat from the sun during the day and radiate it back out during the night leading to good grape maturity. The domaine is farmed according to biodynamic principles and Daniel Boulle believes very strongly that the balance of his grapes has improved dramatically since he began working this way. His cellar work is also expemplary. He looks for elegant extraction and likes to follow this up with a gentle oxygenation of the wines in old oak barrels. In many ways because of the fact he only works in supposedly lesser areas of Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages and yet manages to make such outstanding wines