Chateau Barouillet
Chateau Barouillet has been a family business going back at least 8 generations. Vincent Alexis works alongside his father and grandfather to cultivate the land and has pushed the winery into Organic viticulture, starting to convert the soil in 2010 and fully converting all the vineyards by 2014. The domaine controls 45 hectares of vines throughout Monbazzillac, Bergerac Pécharmant, and Cotes de Bergerac.
S
plash — Back to the top
Grapes: Sémillon
Vineyard: 30yo vines on clay
Making of: Grapes are destemmed and direct pressed into stainless steel tanks where they ferment at a cold temperature for about 1 month. The wine is transferred to bottles just before fermentation is complete to finish fermenting as a pet-nat. The wine is not disgorged and has zero sulfur added.
Personality: the name says it all! This is a textbook example of a great pet-nat: aromatic, buzzing with life and primary fruit, great citrus acidity and pleasant light body with hazy veil… and it’s so drinkable that the bottle will be gone before you say Splash. (We tried to arrange things by importing this chuggable wine also in mags, alas, the same thing happens!)
Barouillet Bergerac Rouge — Back to the top
Grapes: Malbec, Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet franc
Vineyard: Clayey and calcareous
Making of: The grapes, harvested as fresh as possible, are destemmed and lightly treaded before being in stainless steel tank. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts. After fermentation, warm maceration for 10 days in order to flow out the marc around 27°C, the purpose is to gain richness and texture. Aging in stainless steel tank. Bottled unfined, unfiltered with zero added sulfur (total SO2 below 10ppm).
Personality: Beautifully Mediterranean! Ruby with hints of purple, licorice and crushed red fruits notes, rich and fresh at the same time… Perfectly drinkable red for all kinds of occasions and easy meat dishes, really great value. Note for patient drinkers: thanks to its unmanipulated winemaking, it will continue to evolve beautifully over the next couple of years.