Rivesaltes Tuilé 1982 Marc Parcé 75 cl.

This is a wonderful but at the same time much overlooked wine type from Roussillon, just a few kilometers from the Spanish border on the Mediterranean side. There are different versions of oxidatively aged grated salts, named after their appearance: this one is called tuilé; deep amber with a red tinge.
For novices, for the sake of overview, you can compare this rivesaltes tuilé with tawny port wine, but with its 16% alcohol, the rivesaltes has a significantly lower alcohol content as one of several differences.

Marc Parcé Rivesaltes Tuilé 1982 is made from grenache noir and grenache gris grapes, grown on steep fields with sand and partly decomposed shale. The climate is dry and harsh, and the grapes accumulate the necessary sugar content for this type of wine, which stops the fermentation via the addition of grape spirit, while the wine is still sugary and thus has a natural residual sweetness.
The aging takes place oxidatively in old barriques, where this wine has spent an incredible 39 years before bottling in July 2022. Such a long aging leaves its mark on the wine’s expression, and it is precisely the aging that contributes to the wine’s aromatics.

Aroma and taste have high intensity, sweet notes of nuts, orange peel, dried apricot, fig, light caramel, cinnamon and a hint of honey.
Through evaporation during storage, a great concentration has been achieved in the wine with a sweetness that is kept in check 1:1 by balanced acidity. The aftertaste is almost endless but has a razor-sharp focus.

Served at 12° in a white wine glass, this is an elegant aperitif or after dinner drink, but also remember that this type of wine goes well with crema catalana, crème caramel, crème brûlée, foie gras terrine, bitter chocolates, nuts, blue cheese. Furthermore – and more curiously – it is praised as a good partner for a cigar, as well as a conversation about why the world is no longer what it used to be.