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ROCHEBLEUE1004
Domaine de la Roche Bleue ‘La Belle d’Aunis’ 2018
ROCHEBLEUE1004
Domaine de la Roche Bleue ‘La Belle d’Aunis’ 2018

Domaine de la Roche Bleue ‘La Belle d’Aunis’ 2019

€31.39

A lively nose of tart red berries and strawberries, plus a small shovelful of earth, tobacco, and black pepper. Vibrant and peppery on the palate, light but concentrated and full of focus. This has entered a great phase right now, its grainy, peppery edge integrating beautifully with the now almost pinot-like ripe berry fruit. Wow!

Vinification
Sebastien Cornille’s top red, from biodynamically farmed old-vine (50+ years) Pineau d’ Aunis on clay-silex soils. Manual harvest, delicate destemming, 15-day semi-carbonic fermentation, aging for 6 months in old wooden barrels. Bottled unfiltered with a touch of added sulfites.

SKU: ROCHEBLEUE100419 Categories: ,
Description
Domaine de la Roche Bleue

Originally hailing from Sancerre, Sebastien Cornille started his domaine in 2008 with a couple of remote vineyards in Jasnières (itself an outskirt and the northernmost limit of Chenin-growing), which by now he has grown into a 6,5 ha operation with holdings in Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir. These sloped vineyards – mostly on argilo-silex over limestone soils – are all worked manually and solely by Sebastien himself (certified organic, biodynamic in practice).

Work in the cellar is carried out without additives except for minimal amounts of sulfur, with long natural fermentation and elevage (part tank/part old barrels) deep inside icy tuffeau caves.

Man were we impressed, during a wintry visit to the Loire, by Sebastien’s humble determination and his beautifully chiseled wines! Bracingly acidic, subtly kaleidoscopic Chenins refracting a thousand nuances of white flower, apple, honey, wax, butter and chalk. Laser-focused, mega-crunchy old vine Pineau d’Aunis, sometimes blended with Gamay and Cabernet, full of momentum and restrained white-peppery funk. All delicious now but built for the long haul. 
These may not be the most charismatic looking bottles in town, but what’s inside them is some of the most promising wine on our shelves. Definitely not for everyone, but any acid-head with a taste for nuanced and contemplative wines that walks past them is missing out big time.
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