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Domaine Le Briseau | 'Patapon' Rouge

Domaine Le Briseau | 'Patapon' Rouge

A sublime mix of delicate fruit and earthy crunch

$35 - $35
$35
$35 - $35
$35

This 100% Pineau d'Aunis from Nathalie Gaubicher is one of the most-loved wines from this lesser-known grape. This foot-trod, semi-carbonic beauty is lip-smacking blueberry and strawberry compote, with violets, white pepper – a sublime mix of delicate fruit with earthy crunch. It's lightly fruited and nervy, but it has an underlying grip and texture that elevates it from something to chill and chug to something you can savor and contemplate. Be assured that the figure on the label is a mischievous fool - not a clown - and his motto is "Vigneron Non Conforme" or "Non Conforming Winemaker."

Delicious With

Cured meats like prosciutto, salami, and chorizo, soft cheese like brie or Camembert, or semi-hard cheeses such as Gruyère or Comté. For a sublime pairing, try a hunk of aged goat Gouda – the creaminess will balance the acidity of the wine. Also great with roasted white meats, braised things, meaty fish, and red sauce.

Their Cred

It is said that adversity builds character, that it shapes us into who we are. Nathalie Gaubicher from Le Briseau has had more than her share of difficulties. In 2012 her partner and cofounder Christian Chaussard died in a tragic accident. Since then she has bravely carried on, making extraordinary wines.

Christian Chaussard was and still is thought of today as a legendary vigneron who, against continuous odds, created wines of impossibly unique character with prodigious skill. He managed to survive Guillain-Barré syndrome, even learned to walk again after being thought-to-be permanently paralyzed from the waist down, and discovered completely on his own and by accident how to make pétillant naturel wines at his estate in Vouvray by bottling a wine with residual sugar. He finally left Vouvray and his teaching position in Amboise to make wines outside the conventional way and on his own terms. On his travels he met actress, certified sommelier and oenology school graduate Natalie Gaubicher and they fell in love. Together they founded Domaine le Briseau, a riff on the French verb to ‘shatter’, in Jasnières, one of the northernmost appellations of the Loire. Clay and limestone rock dominate the soils here, so hard they shatter most tools that get near it. Ten years later, Christian died in a tractor accident on the estate. His ashes are buried in the vines and Natalie continues to tell his story through their wines. 

Winery   Domaine Le Briseau

Type   Pineau d'Aunis

Sustainability   Organic

Origin   Loire, France

Alcohol   12.5%

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