Producer: Domaine de Belliviere 
Region: Loire, France  
Blend: 100% Pineau d'Aunis 
Year: 2019 

John Gilman, 92 Points 

"The 2020 Rouge-Gorge from the Nicolas family is a lovely bottle of Pinot d’Aunis. The wine is nicely ripe and expressive in this vintage, coming in at a full fourteen percent octane and offering up a deep and complex nose of red and black cherries, pepper, lovely botanical shadings, chalky soil, menthol, a touch of cedar (from the older casks the wine is aged in) and a topnote of campfire. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with fine stuffing in the mid-palate, ripe, chewy tannins and a long, well-balanced and nicely structured finish. This needs several years in the cellar to soften up its tannins, but once it is ready to drink, it is going to be an exceptional example of Pinot d’Aunis! 2030-2055." 

Winemaker Notes: 

"Rouge Gorge ("red throat") is named in honor of the robins which inhabit the vineyards. The Pineau d'Aunis vines are scattered amongst many Bellivière parcels and range in age from 25 to 45 years old. The soils are generally flinty clay over tuffeau (soft limestone); the vines are kept to a maximum yield of 25 hl/ha. The Nicolas family farms biodynamically and harvests by hand. The grapes are destemmed, crushed and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in old barrels. Macerations lasts up to a month, with occasional punchdowns and with each parcel vinified separately. The wines are aged in used barrel for 12 to 18 months, before blending and bottling without fining or filtering." 

Alcohol: 14% 

Biodynamic farming 

*Price and availability in store may vary. Vintage date may differ from pictured.