Domaine Boisson Cairanne ‘Les Trois Terroirs’ 2023, Rhône Valley, Organic

Les Trois Terroirs is Domaine Boisson’s Cairanne red, a certified organic wine from the southern Rhône. As the name suggests, it brings together fruit from three different types of soil across the family’s Cairanne vineyards: clay and silica over sandstone, which gives finesse; stony garrigue soils, which give power and intensity; and well-drained, south-facing slopes of stony limestone and clay, which add silkiness and freshness. The blend is 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre and 10% Carignan. The grapes are destemmed and fermented mainly in tank with indigenous yeasts at low temperatures to emphasise the fruit, with gentle pump-overs and délestage, and only a small proportion is aged in oak.

In the glass it is a deep ruby with purple tints. The nose shows strawberries and cherries with spicy, floral notes. The palate is bright and juicy, with red and purple fruit, hints of fruit cake and sweet toast, silky tannins, good roundness and depth, and a spicy finish.

Serve at around 16–18°C. It is a natural partner for roast lamb with herbs, daube of beef, grilled meats, sausages, duck and Provençal vegetable dishes. Les Trois Terroirs is delicious now and will keep well for four to five years.

Domaine Boisson is a family estate in Cairanne, in the southern Rhône Valley, whose roots go back to the 1850s, when the family bought a small farm growing cereals, olives and vines. After the Second World War René Boisson developed the estate, replacing olive trees killed by the great frost of 1956 with vines, and in 1957 he left the village co-operative to build his own cellar. His son Régis expanded the vineyards, and the first wine bottled under the Domaine Boisson label followed in 1986. Today Bruno Boisson, who returned to the family estate after studying in Burgundy and making wine in Australia’s Barossa Valley, runs the domaine with a minimal-intervention approach, with careful manual work in the vineyards. The vines have been certified organic since 2020.