I've got my chair tipped back, my feet up and a glass of dripping, shimmering, gorgeous Couly Dutheil Rosé in my hand, as I watch the late afternoon melt kaleidoscopically into early evening. A refill, please!
I'm drinking Rosé all year round but in the summertime it has a special place. Picnics and barbecues beg for Rosé and a vacation weekend is incomplete without it. With Memorial Day coming and the Fourth of July not far behind it you should be stocking up.
This 100% Cabernet Franc rosé from Couly Dutheil is dry with bright berry fruit and knock-you-over aromatics. The Chinon terroir where it is grown puts its stamp on the wine with its characteristic structure that makes this rosé perfect for pairing with foods on the grill.
Many of us are now very familiar with the wines of Domaine Couly Dutheil. They've got a line-up of some of the best Loire Valley Chinons: the winning La Coulé Automnale, succulent Baronnie Madeleine, cellar-worthy Clos de l'Echo, and the very delicious and rare white Chinon Les Chanteaux, but his Rosé made from 100% Cabernet Franc takes Rosé to a new level.
Arnaud's Rosé brings beautiful warm spring and summer days right to my lips. You can taste the powerful red berry fruit (Rosé should never just taste like pink white wine - in fact, you can think of this Rosé as a red wine meant to be drunk chilled) and there is that zing of fresh, perfect acidity in your mouth. The color is like a perfect sunset after a perfect day of summer.
And it comes from one of the most beautiful villages in all of France: Chinon. I've been drinking Chinon for years. I cannot taste a Chinon without a vivid picture of the village popping into my mind.
Domaine Couly Dutheil has been making some of the Loire's best wines for 90 years now. This Rosé is produced on gravel and sandy soils.
What sets the Couly Dutheil Rosé apart from so many others is that, from vine to bottle, it is crafted to be the best Rosé it can be. The grapes are picked by hand and the yields are low. While some Rosés are merely the byproduct of a red wine, this Rosé is grown in a specially dedicated vineyard and harvested earlier than grapes bound for red wines to maximize the bright red fruit flavors. By contrast, Arnaud harvests his red wine grapes about two weeks later, which puts an emphasis on blacker fruits in his red wines.
Vinifying the best Rosé begins with pressing the grapes the way you normally would for any red wine. The juice is then allowed to sit with the grape skins briefly (usually just a few hours) picking up color, but also tannins, pectins and proteins which give the wine structure. Then the juice is drained off, put into another vat without the skins and the fermentation proceeds.
This is what gives Rosé its beautiful, seductive color and the structure to stand up to foods on the grill. Are you ready to put your feet up? This Rosé says you are.
