Lionel Osmin 'Le Pouvoir Des Fleurs' Fronton Rouge 2022 750ml

FRANCE : SOUTHWEST FRANCE : FRONTON

ORGANIC : Négrette, Syrah

MED-BODIED, VIOLET, BLACKBERRY, PEONY, WHITE PEPPER, NO OAK

Fronton sits just north of Toulouse, where the Garonne and Tarn rivers converge on a plateau of boulbènes — sandy, gravelly clay that drains fast and forces roots deep. Négrette is the appellation's anchor variety, an indigenous grape grown almost nowhere else in the world, with a floral intensity — violet, peony — that's immediately its own. The Knights Templar are said to have carried it back from Cyprus in the 12th century; the mythology may be embellished, but the character of the grape isn't.

Lionel Osmin built his négociant house in Pau in 2010 specifically to make the case for Southwest France's rare varieties. "Le Pouvoir des Fleurs" (the power of flowers) is his Fronton statement — 85% Négrette for the aromatics and soft tannins, 15% Syrah for spine and white pepper, fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel to keep the floral lift intact. Revue du Vin de France named the house Négociant of the Year in 2015.

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