Domaine de L'Oubliée ‘Le Bruit des Glaçons’ Rosé 2022

Location: France, Loire, Bourgeuil

Winemaker: Xavier Courant

Grapes: Cabernet Franc

Soil: Sand, Gravel, Limestone

Winemaking: Hand harvest. Direct-press, fermentation and agingin fiberglass tanks for six months.

From the Importer Louis/Dressner: The grapes for ‘Le Bruit des Glaçons’ come from purchased organic fruit from the Puy de Dôme area.

All the wines are named after films by French director Bertrand Blier. Bruit des Glaçons or "The Sound of the Ice Cubes", is a simple mention of the wine being enjoyed cold at any point in the day.

Xavier Courant, a former Parisian caviste, decided to get closer to the source by founding Domaine de L'Oubliée in 2009. After studying viticulture/oenology and working with famed vigneron Romain Guiberteau for a year, Xavier managed to purchase three plots of Cabernet Franc and a small parcel of Chenin Blanc to form a 7.14 hectare estate in the commune of Saint-Patrice.

Each of the sectors features a unique terroir; in such Xavier vinifies three red wines to highlight their inherent differences. "Merci la Vie", his entry level cuvée, comes from vines planted in 80% sand and gravel and 20% and limestone. "Notre Histoire" is grown on calcareous clay and tuffeau limestoneand "Tenue de Soirée" is grown on clay and limestone. Xavier also tends to a small parcel of Chenin Blanc, a complete anomaly in Bourgeuil. Appropriately, the wine is called "Existe en Blanc" (Exists in White). White wines are not permitted in the Bourgueil appellation, so this wine is sold as Vin de France. Each cuvée is named after a film or novel from Bertand Blier, the famed French director whom Xavier happens to be obsessed with.

After many years of conversion, the estate is now certified organic. In the cellar, native yeasts have always been used, the wines are never fined or filtered and sulfites are only added in very low doses at bottling.