2013 Domaine Joncier Lirac Rouge

The feisty, vivacious Marine Roussel took her time finding her place in the family domaine. Her father, Pierre, was an agronomist and started Domaine du Joncier in 1964. She joined the domaine in 1989, and has since taken on her new vocation with the zeal that only a true artist could possess. Marine aims to achieve balance, purity, and minerality in her wines—a noble, if not challenging, goal given the sunbaked terroirs she farms. On the right bank of the Southern Rhône, Lirac shares many similarities to both neighboring crus Tavel and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Her terraced vineyards of alluvial soil and galets roulés mirror Chateauneuf’s terraces right across the river. Marine has achieved organic certification in her vineyards and is now seeking biodynamic certification. Her soils are alive with microbiotic activity, lending a hand in both the long-term sustainability of her land and in the mineral expression of her wines.