One of the great benefits of my new job is that I work around the corner from Chamber Street Wines, where I purchased the above bottle of 2010 Clos Roche Blanche Pineau d’Aunis, a rosé from Loire with sediment in the bottle that came highly recommended…a little tight, she said…indeed it blew our minds.
Thankfully, Wine Club fell on Bastille Day, and so we celebrated with bottles of French rosé. And while my writing of this night is long over due, it is this bottle that has stuck with me, a rosé made from Pineau d’Aunis, or “Chenin Noir.” Only in Loire, it’s a red grape that’s grown organically and biodynamically by Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet, both of whom have never formally studied the practice of making wine. Inheriting the land from her family, who’d first planted vines before the 19th century turned 20, Roussel has whittled has down her vines from 25ha to 18ha, so that they might better practice “non-interventionist winemaking” with biodiversity in the vineyard.
Initially, there were sour aromas (like lambic), that rose from the soft pink wine in the glass. But eventually, the champagne vinegar essence turned blood orange (think Jura), with rose flower and white pepper notes. The minerality? Well, it kept expanding on the palate like a tectonic shift. A beautiful wine–Unfiltered, no sufur, just a short layer of CO2 below the cork. Imported by Louis/Dressner. It won’t last long. Buy quick.
For photos and more information, check Wine Terroirs.
