Featured Wine Sale 11/26 - 12/2: New French Finds
What do you do the week after Thanksgiving? Do you wander around in a food-based coma and dream of anything but sugar-plum fairies? Do you look at the calendar and rue your lack of planning for the major gift giving holiday that is approaching almost too quickly? Well never fear, we’re here to help get you there, and this week we’re putting out some of our favorite new and fresh French Wines from Beaujolais and the Roussillon.
The craggy outposts of the Roussillon where Domaine Réveille calls home.
Domaine Pral Beaujolais Blanc
We start in the very southern tip of Beaujolais, itself the very southern part of the Burgundy wine region, but France is complicated, and decides to evaluate Beaujolais separately from its most famous still wine producing region.
Domaine Pral gets its name from Marion Pral who, along with her husband, is in charge of this 45 acre estate in the hamlet of La Roche in Saint Laurent d’Oingt.
Beaujolais was looked down upon in the wine world due to its very popular young wine “Beaujolais Nouveau”, especially in the United States where the fizzy and fruity wine was paired with Thanksgiving dinner.
Even today, Gamay is looked on with apprehension, but the “crus” within Beaujolais are in vogue in trendy wine bars and bottle shops.
Beaujolais Blanc is almost always Chardonnay, and though it is not made to compare with its’ proper Burgundian counterparts, the result is a supremely fresh and drinkable white wine that won’t give you the cloying finish of many an American oaked bottle.
Domaine Pral Beaujolais Cuvée Terroir
The crus of Beaujolais span from south of Macon to the north of Villenfranche, the capital of the Beaujolais region. Saint-Laurent-d'Oingt falls outside of the more prestigious cru region, but still within the Beaujolais Villages.
The name of the Beaujolais game is Gamay, the other light red wine of Burgundy that was ripped out of the Cote d’Or when a Duke of Burgundy found the taste not to his liking.
But times have changed, and now some cru Beaujolais can be as expensive as their Pinot Noir counterparts.
But there is still value to be found in the southernly Beaujolais Villages, where Domaine Pral makes its home.
This 100% Gamay is hand harvested from sustainable farms and aged in Concrete tanks for 8 months before release.
Domaine Réveille Tous des Oiseaux
French for “All Birds”, this IGP Côtes Catalanes young vine Carignan comes to us from stellar woman winemaker France Crispeels, who established her winery after purchasing an old plot of Carignan vineyards in 2006.
She’s been on the natural wine trail ever since, and this is her latest play on her younger parcels of Carignan vines.
We’ve found Carignan to be one of the more versatile varietals in the red wine world, equally capable of being a rich and spicy fruity red wine, as well as softer, lighter approaches like the Tous des Oiseaux.
Unfined, and lightly filtered with vegan friendly microbial membranes, this is one of our favorite natural wines we’ve had the pleasure of drinking.
Domaine Réveille Ultra Violet
This was the first wine from France Crispeels that blew us away. 100% Syrah sourced from her young Syrah vineyard plots that are planted on granite soils. This is hand-picked and sorted before fermentation.
In a nutshell, this is what the new wine vanguard in Roussillon is all about. Though Syrah is commonly associated with AOCs within the Rhone Valley, new winemakers, driven to this region of France for both the more affordable land and the types of varietals that can be grown here, have flourished.
As before with the Tous des Oiseaux, the Ultra Violet is Unfined, and only gently filtered with vegan friendly membranes and sees minimal (if any) additions of sulfites.
Come try your new savory favorite from the Roussillon, and take advantage of this sale that lasts all week!
Further Reading:
We’ve Touched On Roussillon Before
Jancis Robinson Breaks Down Gamay
The Good Folks At Punch Made An Insider’s Guide to Beaujolais