LADY FARMER
No, she doesn't like pink... Loving the countryside, caring for nature and its future, working the land, observing the vegetation grow, putting on farm boots or pretty gloves and a suit, and travelling to talk about wines. That is being a Lady Farmer today! Nelly France is a farmer, a wine grower and a Lady Farmer.
Like her, this Châteauneuf-du-pape is an iron fist in a velvet glove. This appellation is full of concentration and power, however this is not what Nelly France wanted to highlight. It is the opposite that interested her, indeed in a structured shell, but the supple grenache, its suave and silky side, and the more robust and spicy side of the syrah. All this on a gentle tanning structure, and on the freshness of the fruit that would enable to arouse elegance, complexity and delicacy. A gentle extraction was necessary, and it is the ageing in concrete tanks that enabled to maintain the freshness of the fruit and not to hide it.
LADY FARMER, CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2016, Grenache Syrah
Keywords : elegance, complex spices
Varieties : Grenache, Syrah
Fermentation and ageing : in concrete tanks
Nose : spices, cinnamon, black fruit, blackberry, ink, minerality
Mouth : supple and round, dense structure, volume, ripe fruit, spices
End of mouth : freshness and complex spices
Ageing potential : 8-10 years
Ideal service T° : 14-16°C
WINE & FOOD MATCHES :
A Lady Farmer would go for grilled lamb cutlets, here you want to play on textures and the savory side versus the fruity side. The juicy and delicate of the lamb cutlets will support the fruitiness, while the grilled and smoked notes will support the savoury, the tannins and biting side of the wine.
You can also look at adding a herbs crust to your lamb, the herbs would accompany very well the savoury. If you still want to push the savoury side (that mineral, inky, spicy) go for powerful side dishes. Mushrooms like black trumpets or morels would be perfect for their delicate aspect but also their strong perfumes.
With a pluma iberica, you'll highlight more of the fruitiness, as the fat of the pluma will support the soft, and fleshy facets of the wine. As for a garlic sauce with rosemary, it will then back up the savouriness and the tannins, but while counter playing with a touch of confits prunes (for ex.), you'll comfort again that back up to the fruitiness and roundness of the wine emphasizing then indulgence.