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Méthode Ancestrale / Bugey / Gamay & Poulsard
It's a Vin de France because the rules wouldn't have it any other way. The Renardat-Fâché family has been making méthode ancestrale sparkling wine in Mérignat — a medieval village tucked into the steep clay-limestone hills between Lyon and Geneva — for eight generations. Their Cerdon du Bugey is the appellation's benchmark. Au Commencement is the wine they make when they don't want the appellation telling them what to do.
The problem, if you could call it that, is Poulsard. Bugey-Cerdon requires at least 50% Gamay and at least 22 grams per liter of residual sugar. Au Commencement tips the blend toward Poulsard — the wild, iron-flecked red grape of the northern Jura — and finishes dry, around 8 g/l. The AOC rulebook showed it the door. The wine doesn't seem to mind.
The result is a brut pétillant naturel that goes somewhere more serious than the demi-sec Cerdon: cranberry and crushed raspberry, a whisper of dried rose, and a savory mineral edge that comes from the Poulsard and the soils. Fine mousse, 12% abv — drinks like a sparkling wine that isn't apologizing for anything. Biodynamic, certified Demeter.
Pairs with cured meats, sheep's milk cheese, or the beginning of any meal worth attending.
Méthode Ancestrale / Bugey / Gamay & Poulsard
It's a Vin de France because the rules wouldn't have it any other way. The Renardat-Fâché family has been making méthode ancestrale sparkling wine in Mérignat — a medieval village tucked into the steep clay-limestone hills between Lyon and Geneva — for eight generations. Their Cerdon du Bugey is the appellation's benchmark. Au Commencement is the wine they make when they don't want the appellation telling them what to do.
The problem, if you could call it that, is Poulsard. Bugey-Cerdon requires at least 50% Gamay and at least 22 grams per liter of residual sugar. Au Commencement tips the blend toward Poulsard — the wild, iron-flecked red grape of the northern Jura — and finishes dry, around 8 g/l. The AOC rulebook showed it the door. The wine doesn't seem to mind.
The result is a brut pétillant naturel that goes somewhere more serious than the demi-sec Cerdon: cranberry and crushed raspberry, a whisper of dried rose, and a savory mineral edge that comes from the Poulsard and the soils. Fine mousse, 12% abv — drinks like a sparkling wine that isn't apologizing for anything. Biodynamic, certified Demeter.
Pairs with cured meats, sheep's milk cheese, or the beginning of any meal worth attending.