The wine offers a ripe bouquet and flavors of plumsand black cherries intermixed
with cracked pepper and cloves. Dense, rich and velvet-textured, this wine has wonderful balance for
enjoyment with a variety of cuisines. A true vin de plaisir!
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Two of Burgundy's greatest names – Jacques Seysses, founder of Domaine Dujac, and Aubert de
Villaine, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti – own this stunning, 113 acre property in
Provence, which is recognized as one of the top wine estates in Southern France. Unlike most of the
vineyards in the area which are planted on valley floors, Triennes sits on a south-facing slope at about
1,400-1,450 feet above sea level. The soils are rich in limestone and low in organic matter. The
relatively cool microclimate helps maintain freshness, vibrancy and balance in the wines. The estate
is named after the triennia – festivities in the honor of Bacchus that took place every three years in
Roman times.
Technical notes
St. Auguste is a blend of the estate's best casks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot fermented
slowly on natural yeasts, aged 12 months in older casks from Domaine Dujac and bottled unfiltered
after a light fining.
Producer
In the late 1980's Jacques Seysses, founder of Domaine Dujac, and Aubert de Villaine, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, started looking for a vineyard in the south of France. They were driven by the conviction that some great wines could be produced in the Var, an area typically known for its rosés and thin table wines.
After much searching, at the end of 1989, they came upon the Domaine du Logis-de-Nans, an existing estate in Provence, northeast of Marseille and due east of Aix-en-Provence. What caught their attention was the slope itself. The three friends were attracted by the southern exposure of the vineyards and the clay and limestone soils, which in some areas resemble the great terroirs of Burgundy, in other the top coteaux of St. Emilion. Most vines in the area are planted on valley floors in deep soils; here, the entire estate was 'plein coteaux', on a south-facing slope, rich in limestone and with a low content in organic matter: too poor for agriculture but excellent for viticulture.
The estate which showed evidence of settlement and culture since Etruscan times, spreads between altitudes of 420-450m above sea level and lies on a gently sloping hillside between the mountain ranges of Monts Aurelien and Sainte Baume, guaranteeing cool nights and, as was found out, a long growing season, propitious to good acidities and complexity.
The estate was renamed Domaine de Triennes, after the triennia, festivities in the honour of Bacchus that took place every 3 years in Roman times.