- red
- 0 in stock
- Organic
- Low Sulfur
We love Grolleau! This underrated grape unique to the Loire Valley does not have the recognition it deserved, as it was for a long time used for off-dry rosé made from clones selected for their yield. But with high quality vines, great terroir and care, Grolleau can make really good wines! Imagine a mix between a Gamay from Saint-Amour, a Pineau d’Aunis from the Coteaux du Loir and a Pinot from Sancerre: this is what the best Grolleau can taste like, which means Benoît Courault’s La Coulée. Made from 40+ year old vines growing on the Coteau des Mailles in Faye d’Anjou, the silty clay soil over altered schists give a remarkable structure to the wine. In this vintage because of the heat, Ben added a little bit of Pineau d’Aunis and a touch of Chenin. The grapes are hand-harvested, co-vinified whole-cluster in semi-carbonic maceration with some pigeage at the end of the 12 days maceration. Press and free-run are blended, then the wine is aged in used Burgundy barrels. It is bottled unfined unfiltered by Christian Brault in October 2019, with just a little sulfur added at racking. Give the wine a quick decant to reveal a hedonistic nose of wild rose, pink peppercorn, fennel, forest floor. Blind, you would have a hard time guessing this wine : the attack has the delicacy of Pinot from the Southern Côte-de-Beaune, the mid-palate the flesh of a cru Beaujolais, and the finish the spiciness of Pineau d’Aunis. It may be simple on the first sip, but the more you taste it, the longer and more complex it shows with notes of rosemary, iris, black pepper and humus. This is a very serious wine, and indeed one of the very best Grolleaux. Benoit, usually very humble, is quite happy about it, which means a lot! Serve it today decanted or in a Burgundy glass, or keep it 10 years. It can handle a little chill. Pair it with a smoked trout served with a Basque stew, or some charcuterie like fennel soppressata or pata negra. 80% Grolleau, 15% Pineau d’Aunis, 5% Chenin. Pascaline Lepeltier.