Vices and Vertus “Orgueil”

muscadet de sèvre-et-maine, france  |  nv

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we have the perfect pink bubbly to celebrate!

As the voice of the new generation at Chéreau Carré in France’s Loire Valley, Louise Chéreau is creating fresh expressions of traditional grapes and terroirs.

In this spirit, the Vices & Vertus line was born. She’s making a bottle-fermented, direct-press sparkling rosé wine from her old, estate-grown Cabernet Franc vines, planted on decomposed granite soils in the commune of Château Thébaud, in the Muscadet region.

Fresh, crunchy, and playful: Orgueil rosé is an essential Loire Valley sparkler. 

The “Orgueil” brut rosé is made entirely in-house using the méthode traditionelle. The Cabernet Franc grapes are hand harvested and directly pressed, with a short maceration.

After alcoholic fermentation in underground cement tanks, the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bottle and is aged on the lees for 14 months. The dosage of 7 grams per liter (brut) was chosen to accent the freshness and aromatics and was done with grape must from estate fruit. Disgorgement was done by hand at the winery.

This wine is a delicious accompaniment to a tray of briny oysters, but it’s also perfect on its own as an aperitif.