Domaine Rimbert ‘Cousin Oscar’ Rouge

Location: France, Languedoc-Roussillon

Winemaker: Jean-Marie Rimbert

Grapes: Cinsault

Soil: schist

Self-proclaimed paysan (‘peasant’ in French) Jean-Marie Rimbert has been making wine for 40 years. His domaine in Saint-Chinian has been organic since 2003. He prefers wines that drink/digest easily, even in an area as sunny as the Languedoc-Roussillon. Oscar is Jean-Marie’s cousin, known as quite the ladies’ man. Juicy in every conceivable way, the ultimate summer crusher.

From the Importer Jenny & Francois: Jean-Marie makes ‘Petit Cochon Bronzé’ for “those who don’t have a pool” as a substitute refreshment; the label with a “Suntanned Little Pig” is his very own drawing. Deep scents of ultra-ripe crushed red cherries, a note of guava paste, overripe fig flesh and a pretty, yet smoky note of sweet herbs, blood orange and red berry flavors.

Jean-Marie Rimbert was born at a mixed family farm in Provence and trained not as a winemaker, but as a general agriculturalist (“the vine is basically a small fruit tree, isn’t it?” he jokes). Even after 40 years of making wine, he still proudly calls himself a paysan – a peasant, man of the countryside, and his down-to-earth farmer side also shows in his philosophy. The estate’s vineyards have been managed organically since 2003 (certified 10 years later) – not primarily for the wine’s quality, he says, but rather because “I want to cultivate in a way that doesn’t damage the environment. I’m in it for the long term.”

He bought the estate in Berlou, a small village in the Saint Chinian area, back in 1996, and it was a rocky start thanks to the fact that his son Marceau was born at the beginning of the harvest, their very first at their own domaine. “I seriously don’t remember how we managed back then. My brain goes blank when thinking about this period,” Rimbert shakes his head when trying to recall the launch. What he does know is that he was seduced by the village’s unique schist soils and steep slopes (so unique that they give the village the right to its own AOC, the Saint Chinian Villages Berlou). “I like the fine notes of dried rose petals that schist gives to wines,” he confirms, “and I insist on cultivating vines on the hillsides, as it yields wines that are more pleasurable, lower in alcohol, and easy to digest.”