Gray
Gray Wine from the Côtes de Meuse
Halfway between white and rosé
How is it made and what is the difference between gray and rosé?
in both cases we start from red grapes that we harvest early in the morning to obtain fresh fruit and preserve the freshness and aromatic compounds protected from the sun.
not like a red wine where we are looking for the full maturity of the grapes when we make the gray we actually want to keep a certain acidity to have a nice freshness, so the time of picking is important. the grapes enter the press and are kept for a short maceration time, and this is the real difference between gray and rosé. when making gris there is no maceration in the press, so it is exactly like making white wine from red grapes in our case Pinot noir and Gamay.
we like to keep the grapes for about 6 hours in maceration so that our grays take on a little more raspberry color rather than salmon and obtain more intense aromas of red fruits in contact with the skin, so this mode of production is something between gray and pink.
AuVigne
Vin Gris is the only blended wine that we make from Pinot Noir and Gamay grape varieties, the grapes come from 3 different plots of vines with different vine ages. the old vines give the structure and aromatic intensity and the young give the youth, freshness and lighter color of the final blend. The soil is clay-limestone with more presence of clay giving a fairly cold soil and therefore maintaining a homogeneous period of maturity for the grapes without a hot temperature peak and maintaining good natural acidity in the grapes.
Winemaking
The grapes were crushed and destemmed then left to macerate in the press to allow color extraction before being cold fermented to preserve the vibrant characters of the fruit.
fermentation takes place for around 3 weeks in stainless steel vats at very low temperature. once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wine remains on its lees to gain complexity and structure. we often taste the wine and when we feel that the wine has obtained the best of the lees we separate it. the gray then goes through filtration before bottling and is ready for the beautiful summer days to come.
Tasting
This summer wine has a beautiful pink color with light raspberry highlights. On the nose reveals notes of red fruits strawberries, grenadine and raspberry. Fresh and light, this gray is made from 100% Pinot Noir. The palate is subtly fruity with a crunchy and fresh structure. Can be served with grilled meats, delicatessen meats, or simply with friends as an aperitif
Consume between 8° and 10°C
Aging potential: 3 to 4 years.