Intent on making the very best Côtes du Rhône Rosé using the varieties naturally suited to rosé; Grenache Noir for body, Cinsault for freshness and a touch of spice from a drop of Syrah.
An elegant, truly gastronomic rosé from the Rhône. A classic salmon pink rosé with delicate perfumed aromas of rosehip syrup, wild berry blossoms and cherries on the nose. Full flavoured, ripe and beautifully balanced with acidity, there's elegant, textured, berry fruit on the palate with a twist of raspberry freshness to lift the finish. Deliciously balanced and moreish.
Boutinot's love affair with the Southern Rhône spans thirty years of making wine in the region.
In 2010, the relationship was sealed with the purchase of a winery and vineyards above the village of Cairanne. Domaine Boutinot's seven vineyards are planted with classic southern Rhône grape varieties - old vine Grenache Noir and Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan Noir - and they all sit within the Cairanne Cru boundaries, sanctioned in 2016 when Cairanne was granted its own appellation status.
Working with their vigneron neighbours they are helping to revive traditional grape varieties such as Cinsault and Counoise, and in the cellar they prefer time-honoured winemaking methods such as a long cuvasion aided only by natural yeasts, gentle remontage, manual pigeage and patient maturation in a nursery of French oak barrels.
Their hunt for specific plots that would deliver the best grapes with the right balance and flavour profile led us to the south of the Côtes du Rhône where we found ripeness and aroma to balance the freshness found in plots from northern villages of the Southern Rhône valley. As with previous vintages, Les Cerisiers is again made in the same way as the best rosés of Provence, uses the ‘rosé de presse' method as soon as the grapes are picked.
This very gentle pressing extracts as much aroma and flavour as possible with the least amount of tannins. The wine is both pressed and vinified at cool temperatures (of no more than 16Intent ) in stainless steel vats to preserve these delicate aroma, flavours and colour.
As with rosé from neighbouring Provence, Les Cerisiers should not be seen only as a delicious apéritif but a match for light dishes - a simple charcuterie plate or grilled salmon and prawns. It also pairs well with more complex dishes; Bouillabaisse, the classic southern French fish stew, or even Red Thai Chicken Curry, a spicy bean tagine or a mushroom and aubergine lasagne.
