La Perle Rare
In this wine, I accidentally recreated the traditional style of white wine that was made in the area from the early 1900s. It was custom for growers in the village to keep a barrel of wine in their cellar which would be topped up every year and used for personal consumption and cooking. In 2009 I had a barrel of grenache gris that was far too oaky and so I left it in the corner of the winery topping it up occasionally. Four years later the wine had transformed into a complex, slightly oxidised wine which I adored and bottled. For a couple of years, I bottled a barrel per vintage and called it simply Blanc Barrique aka ‘Sleeping Beauty’ but now I feel the wine has its place at the very top of my range and I have renamed it La Perle Rare blanc. To maintain consistency in the style I have 3 barrels in the winery from different vintages and regularly top up the oldest vintage with the younger wines. La Perle Rare blanc therefore is non- vintage but will include wines that have spent at least 3 years in oak. I still only produce 1 barrel per year so 300 bottles making it my rarest wine!
Visitors to Domaine Jones will shortly be able to fill their own 50cl bottle directly from the barrel!
Textured and long this barrel-aged white opens with vanilla, cloves, white flowers and peach aromas.