Klara organic wines represent an expansion beyond Bordeaux for the Dillon family and Prince Robert of Luxembourg, who is CEO and chairman of the Domaine Clarence Dillon group.
Described by the company as ‘a one-way ticket to the south of France’, the Klara range is making its debut with red, white and rosé wines from the 2023 vintage.
The wines, created to be fruit-forward and for immediate drinking, have a suggested retail price of €15 per bottle, a Clarence Dillon spokesperson said.
All will be labelled as ‘Vin de France’, and the group said wines have been sourced from specific producers across a Mediterranean arc spanning Provence, the Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon – the latter now forming part of the wider Occitanie region.
Use of the Vin de France designation gives the team more flexibility to slightly alter the wines’ make-up vintage by vintage, a spokesperson for Domaine Clarence Dillon said.
‘With Klara, our goal is to always select the finest organic wines from throughout southern France and produce elegant cuvées that reflect their roots using our blending expertise,’ the spokesperson added.
The line-up. Credit: Courtesy of Domaine Clarence Dillon
The first Klara organic wines, from the 2023 vintage, are:
- Klara red – 70% Syrah, 30% Grenache, at (15% abv)
- Klara white – 50% Sauvignon, 50% Viognier (12.5% abv)
- Klara rosé – 70% Grenache, 30% Syrah (13% abv)
Winemaker Nathalie Bassot-Dworkin is director of operations and head oenologist for Klara, and has spent time developing relationships with producers across southern France, said the company.
Bassot-Dworkin joined the Clarence Dillon Wines merchant business in 2006 as head of production for its Clarendelle range in Bordeaux.
For the Dillon family, the move represents an extension of its long-standing affinity with southern France.
‘Since the early 1950s, members of the Dillon family have enjoyed regular visits to the beautiful southern French region of Provence,’ said Prince Robert of Luxembourg, who is the great grandson of company founder Clarence Dillon.
‘These cuvées will delight with every sip while honouring the great southern terroirs and celebrating the passionate wine producers that inhabit these splendid sun-drenched Mediterranean regions.’