Why Rosé and Pinot Noir?
Once again we’ve descended down the rabbit hole of Champagne, but this time we look to the rarest of wines made in the region we emulate.
The County was a relatively unknown place when we planted our first vines in 2004 and by global standards it still is today. So what does a neophyte (or two) in a new world wine region do? Look to the old of course. For us that old world wine region was Champagne.
Attending Champagne week (in Champagne) back in 2018 taught us so much about traditional method sparkling wine. It also taught us that throughout the
region of Champagne, still wines are made from Champagne vineyards in
exceptional years. These wines are red and white, the reds made from Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier and the whites from Chardonnay. Although you can find AOC Coteaux Champenois across the entire region, only one area has appellation for the most obscure still wine produced in Champagne: still Rosés.
AOC Rosé des Ricey in the Côte des Bar is on the southernmost point of Champagne bordering on Burgundy. It grows only Pinot Noir and is the only region in Champagne to have AOC for Rosé des Ricey, Champagne and Coteaux Champenois. This is the region we're very interested in for both terroir, the wines they produce and for the region's proximity to Burgundy. Our Pinot Noir vines are from Burgundian clones and while I admit it's a stretch the romantic side of me wonders if there is an overlap of clonal variety in Cotes des Bar and Burgundy. Especially because our vines are showing the versatility of producing both exceptional sparkling wines & still wines.
Inspiration led to implementation, and finally to vinification. From 100% estate grown Pinot noir, Jonas and I offer you our homage to Rosé des Ricey and
Coteaux Champenois. We only made about 45 cases of each as an exploration
of what our vineyard could produce.
We hope you enjoy them as much as we have had making them.
Both are now available via our online shope.
Please use Quarantine Club at checkout for free shipping on 4+ bottles.