Pierre Boniface Les Rocailles Apremont Vielles Vignes 2015
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This prestige bottling was made from the domaine’s oldestvines, and offers green apple, honeydew melon, and floralaromas with a stony, minerality. Dry and refreshing on thepalate.
Excellent on its own, with simple fish dishes, and withtraditional specialties such as fondue and raclette.
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Wine Enthusiast
The old vines give extra depth and richness to this ripe, creamy wine. It still has the proper crisp, tight texture that gives these cool mountain wines their character. Melon, crisp pear and acidity are all well in balance with the tangy aftertaste.
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Wine Spectator
A bright quinine streak runs through this version, piercing the white peach, yellow apple and honeysuckle notes and driving the mouthwatering finish. A tasty aperitif and a good match with grilled branzino. Jacquère. Drink now through 2018. 3,800 cases made.
Certified Sustainable HVE3 and a true earthly paradise nestled in the French Alps, Les Rocailles is owned and managed by boyhood friends and native Savoyard Guillaume Durand, who purchased the estate and négociant business from Pierre Boniface upon his retirement in 2006. Today, he owns 24 acres under vine, lease another 26 acres, and continue to purchase grapes for select wines on an as-needed basis.
The well-exposed, south/southeast-facing hillside vineyards are situated on the lower slopes of Mont Granier and are dominated by stony, clay/limestone soils. Fruit ripens to absolute perfection in this mild, sunny climate, and the wines bear the telltale aromas of the mountain air and Alpine forests, lakes and streams.
The Apremont, a featherweight white made from the Jacquère grape, has always been and will continue to be the signature wine at Les Rocailles, but over the years, Guillaume and Alban have expanded the breadth of their offerings to include a wider range of white, red and sparkling wines.
With hundreds of white grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended white wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used in white wine blends, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a variety that creates a soft and full-bodied white wine blend, like Chardonnay, would do well combined with one that is more fragrant and naturally high in acidity. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
French wine is nearly synonymous with fine wine and all things epicurean, France has a culture of wine production and consumption that is deeply rooted in tradition. Many of the world’s most beloved grape varieties originated here, as did the concept of “terroir”—soil type, elevation, slope and mesoclimate combine to produce resulting wines that convey a sense of place. Accordingly, most French wine is labeled by geographical location, rather than grape variety. So a general understaning of which grapes correspond to which regions can be helpful in navigating all of the types of French wine. Some of the greatest wine regions in the world are here, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Champagne, but each part of the country has its own specialties and strengths.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the king and queen of Burgundy, producing elegant French red and white wines with great acidity, the finest examples of which can age for decades. The same two grapes, along with Pinot Meunier, are used to make Champagne.
Of comparable renown is Bordeaux, focused on bold, structured red blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc including sometimes a small amount of Petit Verdot or Malbec. The primary white varieties of Bordeaux are Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
The northern Rhône Valley is responsible for single-varietal Syrah, while the south specializes in Grenache blends; Rhône's main white variety is Viognier.
Most of these grape varieties are planted throughout the country and beyond, extending their influence into other parts of Europe and New World appellations.