Description
This wine is a very uncommon blend to say the least! It comprises 50% Chenin Blanc from his own vineyards and 50% Aligoté that he has purchased from a vigneron in the Macôn – hence the Vin de France rather than IGP Aveyron on the label.
Both grape varieties were direct pressed separately and underwent débourbage (settling) for one night before the juice was transferred to old wooden barrels for fermentation and maturation. 12% ABV.
The result is a clean, fresh white wine with lots of personality derived from the combination of these two exciting grape varieties. At our first tasting of this wine we were delighted with both the texture and the energy displayed, with both grape varieties contributing equally to the finesse and character of the wine.
Nicolas Carmarans makes wines from indigenous grape varieties clinging to steep terraces in the remote Aveyron region of central France.
For many years he ran the delightful wine bar in Paris called Café de la Nouvelle Mairie. It, as its name suggests, is a meeting place where people go to sip on good wines, eat interesting food and solve the problems of the world.
He sold it recently to concentrate on his vineyard in the Aveyron in south west France where he makes stunningly delicious natural wines from local grape varieties such as Fer Servadou and Negret de Banhars.
This is a new wine for Carmarans made from his relatively new vineyard beside his house near the village of Campouriez. You reach his winery on a twisting road through the forests below the village in the direction of Montézic until you suddenly emerge to sweeping views across his new vineyards and the waters of the Truyère river.