Family Syrah

AOP Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret

Made only when the vintage permits from some of the first vines to be planted at Mourchon, this wine is a wonderfully concentrated expression of Syrah in all its dark and powerful, sweet and savoury.

Smoky, meaty… with beautiful purity of fruit… It’s a stunning effort.
Jeb Dunnuck

Tasting Notes

Deep dark, almost inky purple. This wine has an intense bouquet of smoked meat, an assortment of dark fruits, pepper and a touch of black olives. It is full bodied and concentrated but maintains grace and elegance despite the fruit intensity and pronounced tannins. This wine takes its place at the table when accompanied with anything deeply savoury from miso and mushrooms to steak and wild game.

GRAPE VARIETIES
98% Syrah

TERROIR
These vines were planted in the 1950s on to steep slopes of limestone and blue marl exposed to the north-east.

AGE OF VINES
70 years

YIELD
15 hl/ha

WINEMAKING
Fermented in stainless steel with gentle pumping over and 30 days of maceration. Aged in large barrels for 24 months.

AGEING POTENTIAL
15-20 years

CERTIFICATION
Organic

Press

2021
Note : 91/100
There’s a lot of earth, smoked meat and iron in this dark, inky red. Shows power and concentration, with bitter chocolate and lavender high tones alongside tobacco, charred mesquite and austere graphite. The tannins keep a firm hold as this simmers through the brooding, sanguine finish. Drink now through 2036.
2018
Note : 93/100
Syrah can often struggle in the south but can excel in cooler terroirs, which is more than evident with the 2018 Family Syrah. Revealing a healthy ruby/purple hue, it has classic Syrah notes of gamey red and blue fruits, truffly earth, leather, and peppery herbs. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, nicely balanced 2018 with ripe tannins, a good balance between richness and freshness, and a clean, lengthy finish. It benefits from a quick decant and is going to continue drinking nicely through 2030.
Note : 91/100
Dark plum and black cherry preserve notes form the core, while tobacco and anise drape over the top, ending with a signed mesquite thread on the finish. Drink now through 2025.
2016
Note : 93/100
Still youthfully firm, the 2016 Cotes du Rhone Villages Seguret Family Reserve Syrah probably won’t be bottled for another six months or so. Lovely blueberries and spice notes mark the nose and palate, while the finish is crisp and tannic.
Note : 91/100
The 2016 Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Tradition is a step up over the 2015 and offers more depth and richness. Rocking levels of black cherries, blackberries, mulberries, garrigue, pepper, and olive tapenade all give way to a medium to full-bodied 2016 that has a fleshy, flamboyant texture, sweet tannins, and obvious minerality on the finish. It’s a beautiful southern Rhône to drink over the coming 7-8 years.
2015
Note : 92/100
Tasted from foudre, the medium to full-bodied 2015 Cotes du Rhone Villages Seguret Family Reserve Syrah combines lively black pepper aromas with fresh blackberries and hints of espresso, roasted meat and cola. It’s an unusually expressive Syrah for the Southern Rhône, with supple tannins and crisp acids.
2014
Note : 17/20
Bright, shiny, deep crimson. 60 year-old vines. Just 15 hl/ha. Aged for 10 months in oak barrels. Blackish crimson. Very glamorous, ripe, concentrated Syrah without any simple sweetness almost recalls Hermitage ! Pretty racy and sinewy on the palate. Juicy and dry with good, fresh acidity to counterbalance the density. Really very impressive. 14% Drink 2016-2021.
Note : 92/100
Tasted from foudre, the medium to full-bodied 2015 Cotes du Rhone Villages Seguret Family Reserve Syrah combines lively black pepper aromas with fresh blackberries and hints of espresso, roasted meat and cola. It’s an unusually expressive Syrah for the Southern Rhône, with supple tannins and crisp acids.
Note : 91/100
Deliciously juicy and ripe, with a light bramble background that gives the core of cassis, raspberry and violet notes good energy. A flash of chalk imparts tension. Syrah. Drink now through 2020.
2013
Note : 17.5/20
100% Syrah, vine age 60 years, on pure grey sandstone on steep slopes, 15 hl/ha. Vinification in small stainless-steel tanks, ageing in oak barrels (about 10 months). Very deeply coloured. Dark and smokily reductive on the nose, with a hint of char. Really savoury. Again that house style of savoury dark restraint and elegance shows through. Chewy and dry and all held back at the moment, still very young, the oak eaten up by the fruit. (JH)
2012
Note : 15.5/20
60 year-old vines on steep grey sandstone to a yield of just 15 hl/ha. Aged in oak barrels for 10 months. A sister wine to the Family Reserve Grenache. Spicy nose and succulent, polished fruit. Very marked tannin quotient. I wonder whether the fruit is sufficiently concentrated to stand up to the tannins over time? There seems to be a slight note of greenness. Not as alluring as the (pretty potent) Grenache version. A little mean and stringy.
2010
Note : 92/100
(100% syrah): Bright purple. Heady, smoke-accented aromas of candied dark berries and potpourri, with a bright mineral note adding lift. Stains the palate with sappy black and blue fruit flavors and shows a sexy floral pastille nuance on the back half. Weighty but surprisingly lively wine with excellent finishing clarity and slow-building tannins.
2009
Note : 92/100
This is quite young, with rich, velvety layers of fig sauce, raspberry preserve and currant paste layered with gorgeous bittersweet cocoa, violet and anise notes. The long, dark finish is weighty but pure. Impressive. Syrah. Drink now through 2014. 250 cases made.

Note : 91/100
The most dense and concentrated of the lineup, the 100% Syrah 2009 Domaine de Mourchon Family Reserve, which was aged primarily in smaller oak barrels, is inky purple/black in color and delivers a rich, intense bouquet of blackberry, smoke, licorice, and graphite to go with a full-bodied, textured, and layered palate. Seamless and pure, with grippy tannins coming through on the finish, this still has some oak to integrate and will benefit from short term cellaring. Give bottles 2-3 years in the cellar and then drink over the following 5+ years or so.
2008
Note : 91/100
Quite dark, offering admirable depth and richness for the vintage, with mouthwatering blackberry and linzer torte flavors laced with espresso, tobacco and a racy minerality that extends the finish. Drink now through 2012. 200 cases made.

Note : 92/100
A dead ringer for a quality northern Rhône Syrah, the 2008 Domaine de Mourchon Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret Family Reserve Syrah delivers smoky, meaty aromatics of raspberry and blackberry fruit, peppered bacon, violets and earth. Over the evening, this gets more and more northern Rhône like and I love the complexity and overall elegance of the wine. On the palate, it’s medium bodied with a smooth, seamless texture, perfectly ripe fruit, and a clean, delineated, long finish. Northern Rhône lovers need to try this wine! Beautifully made, this should continue to drink well over the next 10 to 12 years.
2007
Note : 90/100
Dark and broad, with crushed plum, hoisin sauce, black licorice snap and fruitcake notes backed by a fleshy, toasty finish. Racy and long, with a lingering violet notes. Syrah. Drink now through 2011. 200 cases made.