Husband and wife team Diane and Philippe Cauvin live just 30 minutes north of Toulouse, in the south of France. Here they are re-creating vinous history, painstakingly nursing a rare grape variety back from extinction. The pair is living their dream, crafting wines from Negrette, which is native to their area of Fronton.
Diane took the reigns of the family estate after learning viticulture and completing a tour de force throughout French vineyards including Burgundy. The first and perhaps the most significant change was to step up the effort to preserve these rare vines by farming Chateau La Colombiere biodynamically in 2006. As the vines have been cultivated here in the same way since the 15th century, this was a significant change, to say the least. Add to this hand picking and sorting and you get the base to create something delicious.
They are totally committed to their sustainable agriculture, with the focus placed on activating life in the soils by using weeds, cereal cover and ploughing. The Cauvin’s prefer a ‘hands-off’ winemaking style, considering their efforts are best directed at the vineyard. The grapes are hand harvested and hand sorted. Diane and Philippe will maintain that it’s not rocket science. We think they’re pretty special though, and can drink these fresh and floral wines morning (responsibly), noon and night!
A dry rosé, made from very rare grape Negrette, which is indigenous to a region called Fronton in the south-west of France. If this example is anything to go by, we wish there was more of it around! This rosé is generously textured, filled with flavours of red berries and strawberry. It fills out on the back palate, where some rosés might drop off. So definitely a richer style (although still refreshing!) of dry rosé with plenty of personality and complexity.
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You can find food pairings, matching recipes and the winemakers’ story all here: blog.goodpairdays.com/potato-salad-with-anchovies/
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