Cuvée L Grenache 2024 Ugo Lestelle

Cuvée L is the wine where Ugo Lestelle plays his most serious hand: the same artisan as P'tit Bonhomme, the same philosophy of non-intervention and Beaujolais-style carbonic maceration, but with an ambition for depth and longevity that completely changes the register. It's a 100% Grenache blend from two distinct terroirs: the schist vineyards of Saint-Chinian, with their mineral tension and freshness, and the clay-limestone vineyards of Assignan at about 330 meters of altitude, where Grenache gains body and breadth. Lestelle harvests the two terroirs at different times, about a week apart, to pick each at its exact point of ripeness. The result is a wine that combines the mineral vibrancy of schist with the generosity of Mediterranean Grenache, without ever falling into the heat or heaviness that often characterizes this grape in the south of France.