Consolation ‘Juliette’ is a benchmark example of the excellent and overlooked Roussanne grape. The grapes are picked super ripe and handled reductively to retain varietal aromas and freshness, then barrel fermented in oak barrels. There is a honeyed note to the stone fruit aromas in this wine, with peach and nectarine, but overlaid by soft cashew and delicate herbs and spices. It is a full bodied, dry and textured wine that is delicious with roast chicken.
Consolation wines were the brainchild of Andy Cook, who lived and worked in St Andrews for many years before moving to New Zealand to study the art of wine making. After a few years honing his skills there, he settled in the picturesque town of Collioure in southeast France. This is Basque country, rugged and beautiful, just like the man himself. Andy now has a purpose built, modern winery which was built in partnership with legendary Roussillon producer, Phillip Gard of Coume de Mas. The winery always has several projects on the go, but it’s focus is Mas Cristine, an old estate which produces classic Cotes de Roussillon wines. The Consolation wines are predominately made from the older vines within the Mas Cristine estate. The range fluctuates to showcase the best parcels each year and production is very limited. It is an electric range of wines which are bottled as single varietals to show off the grape variety and explore the potential of each grape variety each year.
