Moore Brothers Wine Company

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Touraine Le Vilain P'tit Rouge Domaine Ricard 2021

Touraine Le Vilain P'tit Rouge Domaine Ricard 2021

This 100% Cot (Malbec) was hand-harvested and fermented in a concrete tank, after which the wine was transferred to a mix of 400-liter barrels of which one third were new. Following the malolactic, the wine matured in the barrels for six months before bottling. In the glass, Le Vilain P’tit Rouge 2021 is dark violet at the center, with bright flashes of purple-flecked garnet towards the edge. Aromas of crushed black raspberries, sun-dried Mission figs, Satsuma plums, and crushed violets emerge at first, then intermingle with suggestions of smoked black walnuts, sweet poblano peppers, and fresh dill as the nose evolves in the glass. On the palate, a savory, plum-berry compote is seasoned with raspberry acids, and evolves into a classic Malbec core: an amalgam of red and black fruit with dried clay-rich earth, smoke, leaves and wood toast. The overall impression is charming and food-friendly. Drink now–2029.

About this wine producer: Vincent Ricard is the perfect example of the kind of winegrower I admire the most: the first in his family to estate-bottle his wines. When he took over the family estate in 1998, Vincent immediately quit the Oisly-Thésée Cave Cooperative, which had been founded by his grandfather. He never looked back, and is now one of the Loire Valley’s most admired young growers, regularly crafting wines that are the equal of any top Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. The entire harvest is bottled at the estate. There are seventeen hectares planted mostly to Sauvignon Blanc, with small parcels of Cot (Malbec), Breton (Cabernet Franc), and Gamay. The farming is entirely organic, and incorporates practices learned from the discipline of biodynamics, which Vincent encountered while working with Claude Levasseur, the uncle of François Chidaine of Montlouis and Vouvray.

$21.60

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Reviews

Ling (June 24, 2022)