Vinous, Serious, Singular, Cerebral Rosé
2009 Clos Cibonne Rosé des Vignettes
This is extraordinarily interesting wine, forget the fact that it is a rosé .
Let's face it: There's schism in the rosé world.
On the one hand, there are the crisp, fresh rosés to be drunk in the sun without much thought. Then there are the select few, the Cotats, Valentinis and Chateau Simones of the rosé world. Serious, vinous wines that hover between white and red wines and find themselves in the cellars of savvy collectors.
Clos Cibnonne's Vignettes is squarely in the latter camp. It delivers a powerful, glycerin-rich minerality marked by saline undertones and impressive length. With air, it's mineral depth continues to flesh out. The fruit seems something of an understudy to the terroir... which is to us is a verygood thing.
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This is a rosé for the cellar and one that actually benefits from decanting; it's a rosé for the philosopher, for the wine geek, for the dinner table. This is a rosé that challenges preconceived notions yet is friendly, gregarious and pretty.
Clos Cibonne's Vignettes rosé comes from the obscure local Tibouren grape. So the story goes, this grape has been championed by Clos Cibonne's owners, the Roux family, since1797. The wine is aged in hundred-year-old 5,000 liter foudres under a thin veil of flor that they call a "fleurette." While the fleurette gives the wine a certain salty characteristic, the oxidative affect is in no way the slap in the face that one encounters in wines from the Jura or Sherry.What it does do is lend the wine and intriguing layer of complexity that is incredibly unique.
The "Vignettes" bottling (not to be confused with the cheaper, and to us much less interesting, young-vine bottling) is sourced from the estate's oldest vines, around 60 years old, planted on schiste soils. As alluded to above, these old vines contribute a striking mineral densityto the wine.
This is a robust wine; a quality that reflects both its sunny origins and the serious, unusual vinification that it undergoes. While the warmth of the Mediterranean is clearly present, there's a fresh spine of acidity coursing through the wine. One has to assume that the vineyards being only 800 meters from the coast is at least partially responsible for this verve.
While we're new to this wine, everything seems to suggest that this has potential for shorter-term cellaring. We're offering 3-packs for this reason; drink one or two this summer and put away the rest for summer 2012 and beyond.
We have the lion's share of this wine available for New York. That said, it's summer, it's hot and this is very well priced. Chances are this will be gone quickly.
To order, reply to this email or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
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