Domaine Ilarria - Irouleguy Rouge 2021

Price: $37.99

Qty:   Add to Cart

Producer	Domaine Ilarria
Country	France
Region	Southwest France
Subregion	Irouléguy
Varietal	Red Blend
Vintage	2021
Sku	12017449
Size	750ml

  

A blend of 50% Tannat, 45% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged sur lie in both tank and barrel (16-24 months in used barriques, depending on the vintage).

A dark red color, the wine has an inviting nose of dark cherry and exotic spices, followed by a palate replete with dark fruits and good grippy tannins lending it a great backbone. This rustic wine deserves the finest in rustic cuisine: stews, leg of lamb on the grill and pork sausages with peppers immediately come to mind.

All grapes are 100% hand-harvested and destemmed. Only indigenous yeasts are used, and all wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks. The red spends between 16 and 24 months in 225-liter used oak barrels. All wines are unfined and only the white and rosé are lightly filtered before being bottled. With a tiny production of just around 2,500 cases a year, Ilarria is the stand out in the appellation.

Irouleguy, a small appellation located in the Basque foothills of the Pyrenées in the extreme southwest corner of France, has long been dominated by the cooperative, producing 85% of the wine of the 175 hectare appellation. Over the past decade, a number of vingerons have left the co-op to produce their own wine. Today, there are 11 independent vignerons in Irouleguy. Domaine Ilarria has 10 hectares near the village of Irouleguy, less than 10 km from the border with Spain. The vines are mostly 20-40 years old, though some vines have reached 60 years of age. With most of the vineyards on very steep gradients of up to 60%, everything must be done by hand in these vineyards; Organic.