Domaine Serre Besson
Rose de Maceration
"Victor Taylor is an American wine professional who somehow wound up in the remote town of Nyons in the Drôme department (had to be either a witness protection program or an addiction to olive oil). In 2011, not far from Nyons, he stumbled upon some old vines sloping away from the Vinsobres plateau with a breathtaking view of Mont Ventoux and a “for sale” sign. Let us just say that after 5 years of relentless effort he and his partner, Xavier Nyssen produced their first vintage in 2016.
The 10 hectare domain lies at an altitude of 450 meters in the “lieu dit” called “Les Côtes”. The land is split evenly between vineyards and forest. The Serre Besson vineyard slopes down from the forested mountain crest with the Syrah planted at the highest elevation and the other varieties continuing down the slope. Within the 5 hectares of vineyards, there are 11 parcels, one hectare of which was planted in 1961 with mixed rows of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. The vineyard’s soils are a mix of clay, limestone and river stones rich in calcite." - Ed & Barb, Wine Traditions, Importers
I've written prior about the amazing red that Victor produces, and will again, but this is the story of the rose that he pulled out on the afternoon we paid he and Xavier a visit back in April. I'll set the scene enough to say that Victor, a very self-critical and acerbic guy, sat with me at one side of his picnic table overlooking the beautiful vale stretching southwards towards the wolf fang heights of the Dentelles de Montmirail and thence to the sea. Xavier, his partner and much more jovial and seemingly lackadaisical half (seemingly only, as he's on the tail end of a long career in international law) entertained my better half and junior partners at the other end, the remains of an amazing asparagus salad littering the tabletop as forensic evidence of culinary happiness.
Victor asked me what I thought of the rose, and, being (I'd like to think) relatively simpatico, I immediately brought up the fact that here was a robust wine that wanted food, that made you salivate and think to oneself that the logical step would be to consume the whole bottle with a good friend and some killer nosh. Which, being fast friends, we did. And another, in addition to a few bottles of his red Vinsobres. He mentioned he was worried Americans wouldn't "get" that. I assured him my clientele was cool, they'd get it. It's a full-bodied, supple and engaging rose. Get it? Of course you do.
Now, just mentioning it...this is not a Vinsobres Rose. There is no such thing. This is a rose produced there, but legally there's no village designation. Viognier, Grenache, and Syrah, with the red fermented in barrels. Yeah. Sound intriguing? It is. Perhaps such quality juice as this will change the legal status someday, though Victor doesn't seem to care about that as much as about the few people (tiny estate!) who get to consume his wines enjoying them...really enjoying them.
This rose can, and will, shine as the months get cooler. I will personally drink this in the depths of winter with a good hearty meal, for certain. Victor just shared with me that he plans on keeping it on IV drip until the harvest is done. Hah!
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