2021 Château des Tours Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge

The 2021 Château des Tours Côtes-du-Rhône Rouge is made by Emmanuel Reynaud from forty hectares of organically farmed old-vine Grenache in the Vacqueyras area north of Sarrians. Reynaud harvests weeks later than his neighbors to achieve full phenolic ripeness, and the 2021 vintage saw a cool growing season that preserved acidity and structure, making this one of the more age-worthy recent releases from the estate. The Reynaud family purchased Château des Tours in 1935, and Emmanuel has managed it since 1989 with the same exacting standards his family applies at Château Rayas—his uncle Jacques Reynaud's legendary estate. Emmanuel Reynaud farms the vineyards manually, plowing by hand and adhering to a philosophy of minimal intervention, old vines, and late harvest dates that allow Grenache to develop complexity rather than jammy fruit. The soils are galets roulés—rounded river stones that store daytime heat and radiate it back to the vines at night—mixed with sandy clay, a signature of serious Southern Rhône terroir. Fermentation is natural with indigenous yeasts, and aging takes place in neutral foudres and older barrels with nothing added or removed. Reynaud has never courted critics, and the estate remains one of the most undervalued sources of serious Grenache in the Southern Rhône, a textbook expression of place without manipulation. The 2021 shows red cherry, garrigue herbs, cracked pepper, and a fine tannic grip that suggests this will develop gracefully over the next decade. It drinks well now but will reward patience. Serve it slightly cool, around 60 degrees, to let the herbal and mineral notes come forward. Pair it with grilled lamb, duck confit, or a slow-braised daube Provençal—this is a wine built for the table, not for scoring points, and it belongs alongside food that can match its structure and earthy complexity. In stock at Off Premise in Lincoln Park.