Pierre Boniface Les Rocailles Brut de Savoie
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Robert
Parker
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Enjoy as an aperitif or paired with canapes, cheeses, marinated vegetables, chicken, seafood (especially smoked salmon), or dessert!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The non-vintage Les Rocailles Brut de Savoie is a low alcohol (7-9%) blend of 60% Jacquere, 20% Chardonnay and 20% Altesse. (Put it in a blind tasting and see if anyone can guess its composition.) Aromas of apple skins, spring flowers, lemon zest and a delicate hint of pear emerge from this wonderfully effervescent, dry, crisp, light-bodied, featherweight style of wine. Drink this remarkable effort over the next 9-12 months.
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.