canonique 2020

See-saw temperatures and spring frosts (compelling us to light fires to protect the vines) were followed by ideal summer conditions with mostly warm, dry and sunny days. Then a frost-susceptible September meant an ‘all hands on deck’ harvest as a quick succession of cold nights threatened the grapes furthest away from the wind tower. To make up for the lack of maturity of these grapes, we allowed the remaining fruit to ripen as much as possible.

When brought in from the fields, the grapes are subject to a direct pressing. Cold fermentation, on indigenous yeast and in stainless steel vats, preserve the wine’s freshness and fruity aroma. Sabrevois grapes normally bestow their vibrant color to Le Rosé but lost their pigmentation during the fermentation process, making this vintage paler than usual. The forming of bubbles during the second fermentation takes place using neutral yeast from a Champagne biodynamic vineyard and organic beet sugar. Le Rosé then matures on lees for a minimum of 15 months and is subjected to neither fining nor filtering. The lack of maturity of some grapes and the over-ripeness of others gives this vintage a unique and pleasing balance.