New Arrivals: Natural Wines from Les Foulards Rouges; the Elegant Rosés of Domaine Gavoty!

Les Foulards Rouges is a long-standing favorite of Chambers Street Wines for a good reason: Jean-François Nicq is producing some of the most delicious, thirst-quenching and consistent natural wines in France. Again in 2021, Les Foulards Rouges has produced a really great line up of wines, which being low alcohol are perfect to pop open and enjoy now. And despite being light on their feet, they are far from being fragile, as the enticing, hedonistic aromatics and sapid fruit really explode after aeration or a day or two recorked in the fridge.

Jean-François Nicq grew up in the north of France, and studied geology before he discovered wine and later entered school for oenology. There he met Thierry Puzelat who introduced him to the burgeoning natural wine movement. After receiving his diploma, he moved to the southern Rhône near Tavel and in 1989 he became Director of the Estézargues Coopérative, which, under his direction, became famous for high-quality and organic methods. After working briefly with Eric Pfifferling at Domaine L'Anglore, he found his paradise -   9 hectares of vines at the foothills of the Canigou mountains overlooking the little harbor of Collioure, the “Vermeille Coast” and the Mediterranean sea. Here you find, at 100 meters elevation, decomposed gneiss and granitic soils: these terroirs, with lighter soils, can give lighter wines than elsewhere in the Roussillon, and with the influence of the sea especially at night, they give fresher wines as well. Farming is organic of course. A mixed cover crop (legumes, rye, cloves, etc.) and organic composts are used to create more humus rich topsoil. Yields are low, usually between 15 to 20 hl/ha. In the cellar, things are  simple but precise. The goal is to make clean, highly drinkable wines with the minimum addition possible - sulfur dioxide is used sparingly or not at all. The wines are light and refreshing, but with elegance and depth - serve them quite cool this summer and be happy!

Domaine Gavoty, Collines du Var, Côtes de Provence

We remember the unusually delicious artisanal Côtes de Provence rosé and white from Domaine Gavoty that were briefly available in the US perhaps 25 years ago, and we're very happy that they are again in the US with importer Neal Rosenthal. "Domaine Gavoty encompasses 50 hectares of vines on a Roman-era farm in the commune of Cabasse called Campdumy (“harvest fields” in old Provençal), situated along the snaking Issole River in the northwestern sector of the Côtes de Provence appellation. Surrounded by oak and pine forests and bordered by the Issole, Gavoty is a polycultural farm encompassing 110 hectares in total, and the family has worked the land without synthetic chemicals for decades, obtaining organic certification (Ecocert) in 2020.  Whereas much currently trendy Provence rosé gets by on being light enough in color and innocuous enough in flavor, Gavoty’s are first and foremost wines—refreshing in spirit as befits the appellation, to be sure, but resonant and thought-provoking as well, with notably gorgeous textures. In fact, Roselyn Gavoty considers texture to be the most important element in great Côtes de Provence rosé, and her wines uniformly hit bullseyes in that department. A lot of rosés dash quickly down the throat, sprinkling a few candied red fruits along the way; Gavoty’s caress the palate, with rich but nimble fruit fused to an underlying salinity, and finishes that blossom and linger."

2021 "Grande Classique" Rosé combines 70% Cinsault and 30% Grenache. "Rather than being pressed immediately after harvest by rote as many Provence rosés are, “Grand Classique”—as well as “Clarendon” below—macerates for several hours before pressing, and the saignée and first-press juice are vinified separately. This allows Roselyn the flexibility to blend the more succulent and tender saignée with the more angular and architectural press juice in a manner to achieve the precise textural qualities she seeks in her wines. “Grand Classique” displays an uncanny equilibrium, with racy acidity wed to gleaming fruits that are just the right amount of vinous, all buttressed by an elegant, mouthwatering texture that speaks both to domaine’s healthy fruit and to Roselyn’s consummate blending skills."

2021 "Cuvée Clarendon" Rosé -  "Roselyn’s grandfather Bernard Gavoty (1906-1980) was a renowned classical music critic for France’s newspaper Le Figaro, and  often wrote under the curious Anglophone pseudonym Clarendon, and this cuvée—produced from the domaine’s oldest Grenache and Cinsault vines (dating back to the early 1960s)—honors his memory. Like the “Grand Classique” above, “Clarendon” combines a touch of saignée with the juice from the first pressing, striking a wonderful balance between vinosity and brisk drinkability. Both nose and palate are multilayered and beguiling, and although the fruit is brightly kinetic, there is a sense of regal richness to this cuvée that has nothing to do with weight. “Clarendon” sits easily alongside the Bandol from Château Pradeaux or the Palette from Château Simone as a rosé that is more than flattered by a bit of bottle age."

10% case discount applies, wines are in stock, please allow 3 - 5 days for pick-up or shipping.