2020-C Domaine de Pellehaut Rose, Cotes de Gascogne, France (750ml)   

About the Icons
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Domaine de Pellehaut overlooks the town of Montréal-du-Gers in Gascony, situated within the Ténarèze region in Armagnac. Gaston Béraut purchased the 18th Century Château after WWII and has slowly developed the Domaine into one of the larger Domaines in the region. Today, Gaston’s sons, Mathieu and Martin, produce the wines, each having acquired global winemaking experience working at Château Beycheville in St. Julien, Chateau Tariquet in Gascogny and Au Bon Climat in Santa Barbara.

In the 1990s, the Bérauts sold nearly all their wine production in bulk and were proud of the rather substantial prices their wines fetched, but Mathieu no longer wanted to sell his wine under another winery’s name. Little by little he began experimenting with the large variety of grapes grown on the property: Colombard, Ugni Blanc and Folle Blanche, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gros and Petit Manseng, Tannat and Merlot. In addition to this experimentation with different varietals, the Béraut family is also very well known for their Armagnacs.

Committed to sustainability, the vines at Pellehaut are planted on the rolling hills, while the lower lands are reserved for other crops and as grazing ground for the family’s blonde d’Aquitaine cattle, which contribute to the region’s biodiversity.

This rosé is a blend Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Syrah, Malbec, Manseng Noir and Pinot Noir. Harvest was done by machine and each variety was picked and vinified separately. Once at the winery, the grapes were very carefully destemmed and crushed, before being transferred to stainless steel vats. The grapes were left to macerate for a short while and the lightly colored must was run off, producing a delicate rosé by the saignée method (which literally means to bleed). The juice was vinified at low temperatures (between 59 and 63 °F). Once the alcoholic fermentation was complete, the wines were left on the lees to maximize the primary fruit aroma, and then lightly fined and filtered before bottling.

Bright salmon pink. Delicate aromas of strawberries and lemon zest. On the palate there are flavors of passion fruit, guava and strawberry, with underlying notes of fresh cut herbs on the juicy, slightly spicy finish.