Alcohol: 15%
Grape(s): 100% Muscat petits grains (75% Blanc, 25% Red)
Localization: Rhone Valley, France
Tasting Notes: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise is gold in color with butterscotch, glazed fruits aromas, apricot and ripe pear, floral notes. The palate is rich and runs with surprising freshness after the opening. There is a note of quince paste and herbes de Provence on the aftertaste.
Notes: Grapes are pressed immediately to ferment juice without skins. Temperature controlled alcoholic fermentation; no added yeast. Fermentation is stopped to preserve the grapes' natural sweetness. Fortifying spirit is added, then 6 months aging in stainless steel before bottling.
Food Pairing: Serve the wine by itself, with fresh melon, or foie gras. Also amazing with Asian cuisine.
The Domain: A family property for five generations, a bottle of Muscat from 1847 in the possession of the estate testifies to the age of the estate. At the Domaine des Bernardins, they started making wine at the beginning of the 19th century. The former property of the Bernardins monks was transformed into a wine estate. Mr Louis Castaud was the first to be alarmed by the near disappearance of the traditional production of the village and obtained the appellation Muscat de Beaumes de Venise in 1945 after 10 years of work and tenacity. His family managed to make the Domaine des Bernardins prosper by combining know-how and tradition. Today his daughter Renée Castaud still participates in the life of the Domaine. Her granddaughter Elisabeth, her husband Andrew Hall and their son Romain make this wine which is part of the family history.
The vineyard and the terroir are the essence of the wines of this estate. This is where it all starts and where they focus their efforts all year round. There are no great wines without great grapes.
Most of the work is done by hand. Five full time people work in the vineyard, plus seasonal teams during green harvesting and harvesting to bring out the best in their vines. Manual work and interest in each vine are essential. Thus, pruning, disbudding, trellising, leaf removal and harvesting are done by hand with meticulous care.
The soil is maintained by traditional ploughing. Organic fertilisers are made from grape marc.
The estate works and respects the national standard of "integrated agriculture".
In terms of crop protection, they use phytosanitary products only when necessary and justified and by splitting up treatments in an appropriate manner, so as to minimise the quantities of products used. They favour cultural and biological methods to reduce the use of plant protection products as much as possible. Grassing of the soil, disbudding and leaf removal from the vines, maintaining biodiversity at the edge of the plot: olive trees, almond trees, rosemary trees, caper trees and cypresses.
In a spirit of respect for tradition and the use of the best technology, Andrew Hall, Cellar Master and his son Romain Hall, Oenologist, are committed to continuing the family tradition.
In the making of their wines, the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise takes a very important part and requires a lot of attention. After a manual harvest, they press the grapes to carry out the fermentation in the liquid phase. Without adding yeast, they control the alcoholic fermentation by managing the temperature. The vinification of Vin Doux Naturel requires that the fermentation be stopped to keep the sweetness of the grapes. During vinification, they monitor the vats day and night and mutate them just when needed. The balance of the wine is determined during the mutage. The wine is aged in stainless steel tanks for 6 months before bottling.
