Domaine Alexandre Hote - Lirac 2023
Domaine Alexandre Hote is a young address in the southern Rhône, located between Tavel and Lirac, two neighboring appellations in the Gard known for their sunny reds and characterful rosés. After a family experience in the vineyard, Alexandre Hote founded his own estate in 2019 with a modest area of about 4.5 hectares. The vines, grown organically, rest on varied terroirs where sands, rolled pebbles, and schist mingle. The work is artisanal, precise, and minimally interventionist, with attention paid to soil vitality, just the right maturity, and fruit purity. In this Rhône universe often associated with power, the estate seeks fresh, digestible, and lively wines. The Lirac 2023, listed under the cuvée Lirac de Printemps, illustrates this more flexible and immediate approach to the appellation. It thus belongs to a new generation of southern Rhône wines, less marked by extraction and more focused on the energy of the fruit.
The Lirac de Printemps 2023 cuvée is made from a blend of 80% Syrah and 20% Grenache, a combination that produces a red wine that is both aromatic, fluid, and Mediterranean. Syrah dominates the wine’s identity with notes of black fruits, violet, pepper, and spices, while Grenache brings roundness, ripe red fruit, and a sunnier sensation. The earlier bottling of this cuvée enhances its fresh, juicy, and spontaneous character. The estate works in a natural spirit, without chemicals or additives, with the desire to let the grape and terroir speak without embellishment. The 2023 vintage gives here an accessible, gourmand, and expressive Lirac, built more on drinkability than on tannic mass. The style remains faithful to the southern Rhône but with a lighter, freer, and more direct reading. This cuvée shows that a Lirac can maintain beautiful depth while keeping a true sense of freshness.
On tasting, Domaine Alexandre Hote Lirac de Printemps 2023 shows a deep, bright red robe with violet reflections. The nose may evoke blackberry, black cherry, ripe raspberry, violet, pepper, dry herbs, and a touch of sweet spices. On the palate, the wine is supple, fluid, and very fruity, with fresh matter and fine tannins. Syrah brings a spicy and floral framework, while Grenache rounds out the whole with a more gourmand texture. The finish remains digestible, slightly peppery, with persistence on black fruits and garrigue notes. This Lirac will ideally accompany grilled pork chop, roasted poultry, herb sausages, rosemary lamb, confit vegetables, or simple and generous Mediterranean cuisine. It can be drunk young, slightly chilled, to fully enjoy its fruit and energy.
Grape varieties: 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache
