The Bee-Side 2023
- Retail
- £21.00
- Member
- £16.80
- Case
- £126.00
- Case (Member)
- £100.80
- Varieties
- Grenache
- Vintage
- 2023
- Country
- France
- Region
- Roussillon
- Alcohol
- 13.5%
- Bottle Size
- 750ml
- Drinking Window
- 2024 - 2028
- Description
- The Bee-Side is our second label wine, made from 100% Grenache. Much of the fruit now comes from Jean-Marc Lafage’s Grenache vines, blended with a barrel or two of our oak-aged 'pale red' from the Domaine of the Bee vines. The result is a bright, juicy, 'smashable' wine ideally served lightly chilled.
- Eyes
- A bright pinkish red. This year, the colour is appreciably darker than in previous years, as the dry conditions resulted in small grapes with highly coloured skins.
- Nose
- Gentle, herbal, fragrant red fruit - wild strawberries and griotte cherries.
- Mouth
- Deliciously drinkable and juicy - a joyous young Grenache with a riot of succulent, crunchy cranberry fruit and a savoury freshness that immediately calls for another glass.
- Body
- medium
- Winemaking notes
- Every year, some barrels turn out lighter than others, and we like to ferment whole bunches of Grenache to accentuate the lighter and fresher side of the grape. Nowadays, 70% of the fruit for this wine is from our winemaking friend Jean-Marc who is also fermenting with 'whole bunches', and experimenting with some carbonic maceration, as they do in Beaujolais. The result is a delicious, gluggable red.
- Growing Conditions
- After a second dry summer, with a dry winter in between, the lack of water in the region is turning into a crisis, and the vines struggled to flower and ripen a normal sized crop. The heat, and shortage of water resulted in a lower yield of smaller-sized grapes, with plenty of colour and flavour.
Reviews
Jamie Goode
https://wineanorak.com/2024/08/23/domaine-of-the-bee-interesting-wines-from-the-roussillon/August 23, 2024
92/100 "Most of the fruit here comes from Lafage, but there’s a bit of lighter red from Justin and Amanda’s vineyard in the blend. This is fruity, floral and really appealing with bright red cherry and strawberry fruit with some nice herbal hints and some liquorice and pepper notes adding a savoury framing to the sleek, textured fruit. Very stylish, offering drinkability but also some substance."
Tamlyn Currin - www.jancisrobinson.com
https://www.jancisrobinson.com/tastings?search-full=Domaine+of+the+BeeJuly 22, 2024
17/20 "I've always had a soft spot for The Bee-Side Grenache, and this one is no exception. Those old vines seem to yield wines that reflect the very soul of Grenache. A sort of transparent frequency of jewelled red fruit pulsing with light. It tastes like the ripest of just-picked strawberries, a touch of graphite and wild fennel, the finish like wet stones as it slips out of supple, slim, lucent tannins. So exuberant and generous and yet so graceful."
Tom Cannavan
https://wine-pages.com/tasting-notes/domaine-of-the-bee-the-bee-side-grenache-2023/August 19, 2024
89/100 "Made to show 'the lighter side' of Grenache. Whole bunches are feremented, with 70% of the fruit coming from winemaking friend of the domaine, Jean-Marc Lafage, who also carries out some carbonic maceration. Vibrant, purple-tinged crimson, aromas are really cherry-bright and foral, a little bit of estery Beaujolias style too, and very attractive. The palate is soft, brightly but densely fruity, loads of supple, fleshy red berries and a hint of pomegranate, then a nicely bittersweet finish showing good acidity and moderate tannin for a free-flowing finish. Wine Club members buy for £16.00."