It’s hard to believe we’re already 1/3 into our ’30 Days of Rosé’ feature when we have so much more delicious wine to share with you! The best is still yet to arrive, we look forward to the bulk of our Rosé pre-orders coming in. Yes, that’s right, the wines we’re most excited about haven’t even rolled in yet! Clocking in at No.10 is County Line Rosé from Anderson Valley, California.
Rolling in at number 5 of our 30 Days of Rosé is La Vie en Rosé – a wine we like so much, that every year, we acquire stacks of it!
La Vie en Rose is wonderfully evocative, almost ‘fin de siecle’ approach. La Vie en Rose is off to a stylish start. With just a faint blush of color, a hint of red fruits and a fleeting brush of subtle, spicy wood, this is a supremely balanced, savory food-friendly style of wine that will help even the most hardened of skeptics see the wine through rose tinted specs.
content from www.paysdoc-wines.com
Cinsault: a delicacyThis grape variety is the ultimate Pays d’Oc rosé wines par excellence! It produces fresh wines with a pronounced taste of strawberry and rose petal, becoming slightly tile-red when assembled with Grenache where the rosé takes on its roundness.
Pays d’Oc wines are fruity and new, elegant and modern or refined and contemporary. They are perfect for every occasion, fulfil every desire and are ideal for every table. They have a well-defined French character, bathed in sunshine and the Mediterranean, which makes them easily recognisable.
Excellent value for money, Pays d’Oc wines are resolutely appealing.
Pays d’Oc IGP is attributed to a wine that is exclusively produced in the Languedoc-Roussillon and has been accepted for approval by the Pays d’Oc Wine Producers Union. The label is awarded to wines that meet strict production quality criteria. The wine must also display typical Pays d’Oc characteristics. 92% of all Pays d’Oc IGP wines are varietal wines.
The Pays d’Oc territory winds along the Mediterranean Sea, weaving itself along 4 departments in the Languedoc-Roussillon : Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault and the Gard. The Pays d’Oc boasts 200 km of beaches and vast expanses of vineyards bathed by the sun. A rich and natural combination of steep slopes, hilly peaks, vineyards, garrigue vegetation and the sea, the Pays d’Oc territory is embraced by its Mediterranean climate that comfortably enfolds the vines with its dry and windswept soils.
Having always embraced the vine, Pays d’Oc has adapted its vineyard and adopted grape varieties from different regions in France. These grapes have embraced the Pays d’Oc and taken on the region’s charm.
The terroir effect is noticeable upon tasting wines from the different Pays d’oc zones. The Languedoc-Roussillon’s wealth of diverse soils and climates are exemplified by its *** terroirs. As grapes embrace the land from which they are grown, the grape varieties express themselves differently depending on the climate, exposure, relief, and soils. Pays d’Oc’s patchwork of wine-growing areas creates an expression of these grape varieties that is unique.
In the Pays d’Oc, mankind and vineyards tell one of the most beautiful stories of life and passion. Throughout the centuries and eras, passion for wine has always stayed alive. Despite all the ups and downs of history, it remains, more than ever, connected to its territory. Over the past 30 years, the men and women from Pays d’Oc have understood the importance of adapting regional viticulture to economic and regulatory changes. Their heartfelt commitment to the regional viticulture tradition has created a strong motivation towards optimising the use of the vineyards. Using a savoir-faire passed down through the centuries, they create high-quality wines that reflect Pays d’Oc’s typicity.
As a result, Pays d’Oc wines embody wine growers’ passion and commitment and reflect the producers’ ability to combine tradition and modernity.
The wine does not overwhelm one with fruitybombasticity; it’s charms are seductively subtle. An extremely elegant and complex Vin Gris de Cigare.
This wine is quite emblematic of the great sea change that has occurred at Bonny Doon Vineyard since the sell-off/ draw-down of the Ginormous Doonamath, whereby we have essayed a most sincere effort to make “quieter” wines in a more natural, less manipulated fashion. As such, this Vin Gris is made from bespoke grapes and is not a byproduct of red wine production, per se. We harvested at the appropriate ripeness level for its style. The essential principle here is that less is truly more.
The ’16 Vin Gris is a bit of a departure from recent vintages, somewhat deeper in color and definitely a bit fruitier than some, though the fruit is perhaps (at least at this stage) more of the dark and brooding variety, particularly suggestive of black currants, Damson plum and rosehips. In our modern world, one must never, ever, ever, make anything like a health claim for an alcoholic beverage. Les français, on the other hand, have no difficulty believing that a properly selected wine can remediate, if not cure almost any medical or existential complaint. So, no, I’m not saying that the Vin Gris has a calmative effect on jangled nerves, nor that it creates an immense feeling of well-being almost immediately upon just scenting it, even before the first sip. (Though it does smell an awful lot like any of the sundry tisanes (tilleul, eglantine) that will definitely do you some good.) Its perfume is subtle, haunting, not vulgar or tawdry, like some of the louche rosés de la nuit. Enfin, this wine is all about elegance and restraint. Rosehips, cassis, fraises de bois, citrus rind, with a wonderfully austere stony finish.
The Grenache for our Vin Gris came principally from the Alta Loma Vineyard, harvested at the appropriate maturity level for this elegant style of wine. The Mourvèdre came from Del Barba Vineyard in Contra Costa County. About 22% of the wine is composed of traditional white Rhône varieties in substantial part from the Beeswax Vineyard, adding a surprising richness and foundation.
We also employed the practice of post-fermentation bâtonnage—the stirring or resuspension of yeast lees—to give the wine a certain creaminess of texture.
Just begs for oysters or stone crab.
hris Brockway | Winemaker + OwnerBroc Cellars was nothing more than an idea not that long ago, an idea about making wines that were “site specific.” Where the wines’ true character came from using only organically or biodynamically grown grapes from areas that most would consider marginal. Believing that vineyards develop ‘true’ character and complexity when they have to struggle to survive. In the cellar we try to continue this practice using minimal intervention, in an effort to let the grapes speak for themselves.
The fruit was destemmed and then pressed into stainless steel. All 3 varietals fermented together just over 30 days. The wine was bottled at the beginning of the year. It has high aromatics with juicy watermelon notes for easy drinking. Color comes from the Sauzao, spice from the Zinfandel and acidity from the Valdiguié.
Both the 10,000 Buddhas and Fox Hill vines grow on sandy loam. Fox Hill delivers rustic fruit and is about 20 years old. The vines from 10,000 Buddhas are 90% organic and 60 years old. Arrowhead Vineyard is non-certified organic, 20 years old and on volcanic rock.
All of our wines are made naturally, meaning no use of inoculated yeasts or bacteria. We use only native yeast to spark fermentation. We do not add any powdered tannins or enzymes. A minimal dose of S02 is added 4 weeks before bottling to some wines.
The first time I had an elegant dry rosé wine was on a simple but romantic picnic with my husband Simon in Provence twenty five years ago. Local cheese, bread, fruit, the fabulous, dramatic scenery and that Provençal wine with its delicate salmon pink color, crisp acidity and floral aromas forever linked in my mind rosé wines and al fresco dining with romance. In 2004, Simon and I harvested Olivet Grange Pinot Noir on September 1st, which was our 20th wedding anniversary. To celebrate and mark the occasion I made a special rosé, which I called “Endless Crush”.
Some rosés are made as a by-product of red wine by bleeding off (saigner) some of the juice early in the production process to create a higher ratio of skin to juice, which will concentrate the resultant red wine. “Endless Crush” is not made in this manner. The intention from the start was to create a rosé separate from our Pinot Noir. Rosés made intentionally, rather than simply by drawing off the freerun juice, tend to have greater complexity and structure because the grapes are pressed.
Whole cluster are destemmed, left for 2 hours to extract color, aromas and flavors. The fruit was pressed on a delicate white wine cycle and then fermented with Provençal yeast in stainless steel. No oak, no ml.
This 2016 vintage of “Endless Crush” was made entirely from our Olivet Grange estate fruit; like that first rosé I enjoyed in France, this wine is a beautiful, pale, delicate pink and is crisp and refreshing. The 2016 vintage, not unlike the 2015, yielded about 20% less fruit at Olivet Grange Vineyard due to poor weather conditions at bloom.
Wild Strawberry, watermelon, ruby grapefruit, honeysuckle.
Strawberry, ruby grapefruit, blood orange, watermelon, and mineral
Natural Winemaking
Perhaps Pinot Noir’s greatest characteristic is the ability to convey a sense of the place it was grown, showing subtle yet unique favors that reflect the soil and micro-climate of the vineyard. The French recognized this ability one thousand years ago and named it terroir.
Our non-interventionist and natural winemaking practices allow unique vineyard characteristics to show through. We often pick our fruit earlier than most of our neighbors to help maintain the natural acidity of the fruit and naturally lower alcohol levels. Fermentations start with native yeasts, only adding organic yeast nutrients when necessary. As a rule, no other water or acid is added, and enzymes or tannin preparations are never added.
Sensitive Farming
Modern farming techniques often emphasize production at the expense of soil health and eco-system integrity. While this may be an acceptable part of the business for some, we work tirelessly to solve every farming need at the Olivet Grange with a solution that not only produces excellent quality wine grapes, but also enriches the environment around us. We believe that every measure that we take to maintain the natural health of our vineyard directly contributes to the unique flavors of our Estate wines.
Environmental Responsibility
Positive efforts in the vineyard and crush pad can easily be negated by irresponsible behavior in the rest of the business of running a successful winery. To ensure that we maintain environmental responsibility at all levels, we work every day to reduce our consumption and use environmentally sensitive products wherever possible.
Only a few cases of Joguet Rosé made it into Vermont so claim your bottle of deliciousness while you can!
rom kermitlynch.com:We have imported the Joguet rosé since the 1970s, but it still flies under the radar, overshadowed by the apparent sexiness of basically any rosé that comes from the south of France. Refreshment is needed in the north, too, far from the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean. They have rivers in the Loire, so grab a bottle of Chinon for the next time you plan a picnic next to a stream. Smoked trout, paté, or a Loire chèvre with a crusty baguette will pair quite nicely with this juicy Cab Franc rosé. –Clark Z. Terry
Charles JoguetThe wines of Chinon have long been celebrated. French humanist and native son, François Rabelais, sang their praises as far back as the sixteenth century. However, the distinction with which the appellation is regarded today is due in part to the legacy left by a more contemporary icon: Charles Joguet. This young painter and sculptor abandoned a budding art career to assume direction of the family domaine in 1957. He soon began to question the common practice of selling grapes to negociants, as his own family had done for years.
The Joguets owned prime vineyard land in between the Loire and Vienne Rivers, with some of their finest found on the left bank of the Vienne, just outside Chinon, in Sazilly. These very lieux-dits had been recognized for their character and defined before the Renaissance—some even date back to the Middle Ages. Variations in the soils of these alluvial plains were substantial enough to realize that he was sitting on what would be considered in other regions as premier cru and grand cru vineyards. To sell the grapes off or to vinify these individualized plots together would have been madness. Separate terroirs, he believed, necessitate separate vinifications. Over the course of his tenure, Charles took the risks necessary to master the single-vineyard bottling with an artistry that A.O.C. Chinon had never before seen. In so doing, he realized the true potential of the land.
Charles has since retired. Today, the young, eager, and talented Kevin Fontaine oversees the vineyards and the cellars. He and his team farm thirty-six hectares of Cabernet Franc. Closely adhering to the tradition of Charles, the domaine bottles nine different cuvées, handling each one as a unique terroir and microclimate with individualized care and attention. That ethic trickles into the cellars as well, where careful deliberation and experimentation bring about gradual change.
The wines are divided into two lines: precocious cuvées and those for long-aging. Precocious cuvées, like the “Cuvée Terroir” and “Les Petites Roches” (Little Rocks), are made to be consumed young. If premier crus were permitted in Chinon, Les Varennes du Grand Clos would certainly be considered one of them. Clos du Chêne Vert and Clos de la Dioterie are perhaps their greatest wines—certainly of grand cru quality—with excellent aging potential. Those who are convinced that the best Cabernet Franc grows in Bordeaux may quickly transfer their allegiance to the Loire upon tasting these classic, appellation-defining Chinons. The purity of fruit, the exceptional delineation of aromas and flavors, the soulful reflection of terroirs, and the extraordinary seductiveness of the texture make the wines from Joguet second to none.
