93 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
To mark 30 years of working with American importer Eric Solomon, the Chaudières and Solomon collaborated to create the 2022 Ventoux Terrasses Eric Solomon 30th Anniversary Cuvée, a 50-50 blend of Grenache and Syrah, aged partly in barriques (30%). Gentle notions of menthol and toasty oak appear first on the nose, then you get plenty of blueberries and dark cherries. In the mouth, the wine is full-bodied, creamy and opulent, with a long, velvety finish, softly dusty tannins and a discreet hint of black olive.
93 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
It has a richer, denser style in its ripe black fruits, peppery herbs, and graphite-like aromatics and is medium to full-bodied, with a deep, layered mouthfeel and ripe tannins.
Chateau Pesquie is in the heart of the Ventoux, making some of the very best values in all of France right now. It’s a third generation family-run estate that continues to push the needle in winemaking excellence while also adapting to the changing needs of the environment. The estate, with its 100 hectares planted to vine, has introduced more sustainable farming and winemaking practices and is certified organic and biodynamic.
There are three main terroirs on the property: rocky limestone clay, red clay, and loamy gray clay. To have all three at their disposal is fairly rare, usually you only get one or two, but the combination helps for healthy growth of a diversity of plantings, with the main ones at the estate being Syrah and Grenache, chosen specifically for their soils and exposure.
Fortunately, the Ventoux has a cooler micro-climate than the vineyards near the Rhône, so the family can be guaranteed a longer and slower ripening of their fruit – especially important for these two varieties. The age of the vines ranges widely, anything from 20 to well over 80 years old. That helps add layers of depth and intrigue to this cuvee, which hails from just outside the boundaries of Chateauneuf-du-Pape to the west.