IGP Pays d'Oc: Domaine Girard 'Garriguette' Rosé 2021
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From the Languedoc hills, this IGP rosé wine owes its freshness to planting at 350m altitude, receiving cooling breezes from both the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Classic Cabernet Franc gives beautiful berry fruit and acidity making this a wonderful food partner, particularly to sumptuous salads or chilli-spiced Asian dishes. ‘Garriguette’ is an early-ripening variety of strawberry with a particularly intense perfume. ‘Garrigue’ also references the scrub herbs and undergrowth common in the area.
Phillippe and Jean-François Girard are talented and versatile winemakers. Not content with making Right-Bank Bordeaux style reds in Malepère, this Pays d’Oc rosé echoes Cabernet Franc rosés from the western reaches of the Loire valley. From a parcel of 20+ year-old vines planted near Alaigne on clay-limestone soils around 350m above sea level, it retains delicious acidity to balance bright summer berry fruit from cooling mountain breezes. Farmed according to ‘agriculture raisonée’ methods, no herbicides or fertilisers are used meaning the vines require meticulous care and attention including grassing rows, selective leaf removal and green harvesting.
Crisp acidity balances bright summer berry flavours tinged with that intense strawberry note. Serve with a tartare or seared tuna dish dotted with Szechuan peppercorns, or a salade Niçoise.
A small amount of tartrate crystals may be present in the bottom of the bottle as the wine has not been cold-stabilised which is a process that removes colour and flavour. These crystals are naturally occurring and harmless.
| Style | Rose Wine, Sec, Medium-bodied, Non Sparkling |
|---|---|
| Wine Region | Languedoc, Malepère |
| Grape Variety (Cépage) | Cabernet Franc |
| Food & Wine Matching | Salads, Thai Food, White Fish |
| Viticulture | Non-Organic |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Cellarage | Best consumed 1 to 2 years after vintage. |
| Vinification | Grapes are picked and transported to the wineries in small boxes to avoid bruising. De-stemmed and macerated for 8 to 10 hours at low temperatures to extract colour and flavour, free-run juice (saignée) is fermented at cool temperatures to retain maximum aromas and flavours. Matured in tank and vat under temperature control. |
| Alcohol By Volume (%) | 13 |
Domaine Girard
Based in the most westerly appellation of the Languedoc in the foothills of the Pyrenees, Domaine Girard sits above the Lauragais plain, offering distant views of the medieval walled city of Carcassonne. To the west of the town of Limoux, brothers Phillipe and Jean-François Girard are the 5th generation of the family to produce wine on their 25 hectares of vines. The estate includes a range of well-drained soils (clay, marl and gravel) permitting a wide range of grape varieties to be grown including Chardonnay, Merlot, Côt (Malbec), Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.
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