Bérêche’s succulent and salty rosé uses the Roman name for the countryside around Reims. The 2019 is 70% Pinot Noir and Meunier with 25% Chardonnay, topped up with 5% still red wine from the same vineyard. The fruit is sourced from vines planted by the brothers’ maternal grandmother in the 1950s. These three hectares of old vines are deeply rooted in the sandy Les Montées vineyard in Ormes, just west of Reims.
Harvested on 13th September at 11.5-12.1% potential alcohol, 2019 was one of the more powerful harvests of the last decade, producing a wine of impressive concentration and layered flavour. A long, slow fermentation was followed by aging in three- to six-year-old barrels on lees. After secondary fermentation, the cuvée saw a further 36-plus months in the bottle on lees. Disgorged by hand with 3.5 g/L dosage, the palate unpeels with flavours of red berries and Bandol-like orange oil, tobacco and sweet spices complemented by chalky mineral and saline notes. But it’s just as much about the texture, which is pillowy and charming before tapering to an incisive, fine-boned finish. We’ll leave the last word to Jamie Goode, who wrote in 2015 that Bérêche’s wine “is one of the best rosé Champagnes that I’ve had. It’s so beautiful.” Or perhaps to William Kelley: “exquisitely ethereal”. Or Jancis Robinson: “a rosé for the table. Perfume and gorgeousness.” Speaking of the table, Raphaël tells us that his favourite match with this wine, so far, is roast pigeon (à la Racine in Reims). Some guys have all the luck.