2021 Séguret Grande Réserve, Domaine de Mourchon, Rhône

Our highlight today is one of the Domaine de Mourchons top reds, their new 2018 Séguret Grand Reserve, which is simply stunning. This cuvée, from the domaines own vineyards in Séguret, just north of Gigondas, is from a very good vintage in the southern Rhône. Enjoy now or cellar for another 10 years, this is a wine with concentrated fruit, yet with a freshness and elegance. Its guaranteed not to disappoint.

Set in a secluded valley between the picturesque village of Séguret and the Mont Ventoux, Domaine de Mourchon was established by the McKinlay family in 1998. Their reds, in particular, are brilliant value for money and have been part of our range for well over a decade, improving vintage after vintage. This is one of the Rhône Valleys true stars, highly rated by our consumers and leading wine journalists throughout the world - Jancis Robinson is a fan ("I have long admired the reds of Domaine de Mourchon"), and Robert Parker has awarded Walter McKinlays wines some impressive scores.

Tasting note:
On the nose, clove, leather, vanilla, cola and garrigue notes that give way to a fabulous intensity of black raspberry, liquorice, violet and peppery fruit flavours. A gorgeously opulent, full-bodied, nicely concentrated palate with ripe tannins and a seemingly endless, peppery finish.

Critic reviews:
"Impressively dark in the glass, there's no doubting the ambition of the 2018 Cotes du Rhone Villages Seguret Grande Reserve. Scents of clove, leather, vanilla and cola emerge on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is intense..."
90 points, Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate

"I have long admired the reds of Domaine de Mourchon, situated in classic south of France setting between the medieval hilltop village of Séguret and Mont Ventoux under the Dentelles de Montmirail in the southern Rhône. Mourchon reds are so much livelier and more satisfying than, for example, supermarket Châteauneufs. Their range starts with a basic Côtes du Rhône and travels upwards via a Grande Réserve to very distinct Family Reserve varietal bottlings of old-vine Syrah and Grenache."
Jancis Robinson
 
"It's taken an outsider, English-born (to Scottish parents) Walter McKinlay to elevate the name of Séguret to international prominence in the wine world. Perhaps that's because it's a quiet, beautiful place, tucked into the foothills of the Ventoux, just north of the Dentelles de Montmirail. McKinlay purchased the place as a retirement project in 1998, and he's still going strong, anything but retired. He's even added a Châteauneuf-du-Pape to the lineup, which was reviewed in Issue 233. Contributions from winemaker Sébastien Magnouac and the rest of the team have kept the quality here consistently high over the years. The vineyards are at higher elevation than pretty much anything else in the village, which gives them a firm, sometimes angular structure suited for aging. The estate has an attractive little tasting room above the village, well worth a visit if you're in the area."
The Wine Advocate