We have been hearing good things about Château Unang in the Ventoux for a while, so when we were offered parcels of their top two wines, it seemed time to learn more about them.
In a remote location in the Nesque Valley and surrounded by forests, Château Unang dates back to the 9th century. Owned for centuries by the local bishops, a Scottish couple, James and Joanna King, purchased it in 2001. They have set about making this into one of the most exciting producers in the Ventoux. The estate takes its name from the 'les sables d'Unang', the sandy soil over limestone which predominates on the hillside vineyard.
At an elevation of 220-320m, the microclimate here is cooler than in many other parts of the region. Farming organically, the Kings make their red wines from a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. Both blends, 'La Croix' is dominated by Grenache, whilst 'La Source' is led by Syrah. Both reds undergo a traditional fermentation, followed by ageing in 225L barriques and 600L 'demi-muids'.
RED | 2017 | 3 cases | Château Unang - Ventoux 'La Gardy' | 75cl | £260 per case of 12 | Château Unang Ventoux 'La Gardy' 2017 / 3 cases / 75cl £260 per case of 12 |
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Tasting Notes"...Gorgeously spicy! Iridescent with spices. Massive, magnificent tannins that, for now, loom up over the wine like a roaring lion, but the palate has so much depth and breadth, so much triumphant, confident beauty, that I have no doubt all this needs is time for the elements to segue into each other. Dried, roses, black figs, pomegranate molasses, chocolate mint, sumac, baharat. This has complexity and challenge and powerful grace; tastes like Tschaïkowsky cross Nureyev. 2024-2034. 17.5 points." Jancisrobinson.com (TC) May 2021 |
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RED | 2019 | 1 case | Château Unang - Ventoux 'La Croix' | 75cl | £190 per case of 12 | Château Unang Ventoux 'La Croix' 2019 / 1 case / 75cl £190 per case of 12 |
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RED | 2020 | 1 case | Château Unang - Ventoux 'La Croix' | 75cl | £190 per case of 12 | Château Unang Ventoux 'La Croix' 2020 / 1 case / 75cl £190 per case of 12 |
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RED | 2020 | 5 cases | Château Unang - Ventoux 'La Source' | 75cl | £145 per case of 12 | Château Unang Ventoux 'La Source' 2020 / 5 cases / 75cl £145 per case of 12 |
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RED | 2021 | 2 cases | Château Unang - Ventoux 'La Croix' | 75cl | £190 per case of 12 | Château Unang Ventoux 'La Croix' 2021 / 2 cases / 75cl £190 per case of 12 |
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Tasting Notes"..Certified organic (Ecocert)...La Croix is Unang's Grenache-led blend. La Croix 2021 carries its oak imprint with more youthful awkwardness than La Source. The fruit is a little softer, more 'tendre', a little more impressionable, so its wearing the oak with a certain vulnerability. Lots of cracked-flint-stone minerality, winter-tree-bark bitterness, a sense of sulky skulking in dark corners. But the texture of the gritty tannins is stunning and the dark, dark fruit is full of promise. I would love to taste this wine in six years' time. 2026-2035. 17+ points". (TC) Jancisrobinson.com |
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RED | 2021 | 10 cases | Château Unang - Ventoux 'La Source' | 75cl | £145 per case of 12 | Château Unang Ventoux 'La Source' 2021 / 10 cases / 75cl £145 per case of 12 |
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Tasting Notes"...Certified organic (Ecocert). Syrah-led blend with Grenache and Cinsault. Aged in barrels.A little whiff of sweaty-saddle Syrah turns to beef stock and chocolate and then a mid-palate drenching of dark-red plums and damsons. Tannic in the grippy, wild-winter-walk, thick-skin way that sloe berries and elderberries are. A yin-yang wine that turns in your mouth like a light catcher in the breeze – changing from fruit to earth-and-spice to rugged-tugged coffee bitterness. Great tension and promise but put this away for another three years at least. 2026-2033. 16.5++ points". (TC) Jancisrobinson.com |
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