Palette Château Simone Famille Rougier 1992

Lot presentation

Palette Château Simone Famille Rougier 1992

The wine

Renowned for its phenomenal elegance and ageing potential, this white from Château Simone can be distinguished by its bright golden hue and floral, fruity aromas in its youth, developing an aged gold tint and a powerful nose with cellaring. It is a blend of Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Bourboulenc and Muscat Blanc grapes which are harvested by hand at peak ripeness. Once sorted the fruit is crushed and fermented using indigenous yeasts. The wine is then matured in small oak barrels for 18 months, spending 6 months on fine lees.

At the foot of Sainte Victoire, Château Simone is named after one of its former owners, Madame de Simon. It is "the" big name in the Palette appellation, an AOC as small in size as its wines are great in stature, when they are enhanced by the talents of the winemaker. The Rougier family's wines are definitely in this category: they have have watched over the Simone style for nearly two centuries. Vines have been grown here since Roman times; located at an altitude of 200 metres, on a north-facing slope surrounded by forests that protect them from the searing heat of the Provencal summers. The vineyard and winery are managed according to traditional methods, and the wine is aged in a series of multi-level vaults that were carved out of the rock by the Grands Carmes d'Aix monks in the 16th century. The property consists of 20 hectares, eight of which are planted with white grapes (Clairette, Grenache, Ugni, Muscat), and the rest with red (mainly Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault). Note that there are also some very rare typically Provencal grape varieties such as Manosquin and Castet. The property produces wines in all three colours.