Chateâu Pesquié in the Southern Rhône is among the Ventoux appellation’s brightest stars, and their new vintage of Quintessence Ventoux Rouge is on the money! Quintessence Rouge was first made in 1990 by Paul Chaudière under the urging of his new American importer, Eric Solomon, who loved the character of Syrah he tasted at Château Pesquié. At that time, this region was considered a backwater of the Rhône, only capable of producing cheap, bulk wine. However, largely due to the efforts of Paul and now his sons Alex and Fred, the Ventoux’s reputation has never been greater, and Quintessence remains one of the benchmark wines of the region and still represents a tremendous value. Quintessence is a blend of primarily Syrah with a small proportion of Grenache (~20%) – all from 50+-year-old vines planted at an elevation of 250-350m. Plums, currants, cherries, grilled herbs, leather and black olives on the nose follow through to a full body with plush tannins. It’s ample and generous with a creamy core of red fruit and spices.