Fabien Jouves Rosé 'A Table !!!' Vin de France 2024

Born into a long line of winemakers, Fabien Jouves once sought to escape his Southwest France village near Cahors to go off to medical school, save lives, cure diseases and what have you. But when his parents began to struggle to maintain their domaine in the early 2000s, Jouves quickly switched gears (and careers) and enrolled at a prestigious winemaking school in Bordeaux, driving home every weekend to manage the vineyards and begin converting them to biodynamic agriculture. By 2006, he was cranking out his first vintage, and by 2011, he had earned Demeter certification. Today, he is one of a handful of a growing contingent of natural-minded vignerons making fresh and approachable, minimal-inventional wines that undermine the region’s somewhat stodgy reputation. Situated at the highest elevations of the Cahors appellation, the home of malbec in southwest France, the Jouves estate benefits from limestone-based soils and cool nighttime temperatures. In his own estate vineyards, Fabien practices biodynamic farming methods, and all of his wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts and treated with a light, non-interventionist touch. ‘A Table!!!’ rosé is a blend of malbec, tannat, and merlot hand harvested from biodynamically farmed 35 year old vines. Grapes are direct pressed and spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts in cement and neutral oak. Aging also occurs in neutral oak and cement, and the wine is bottled without fining or filtration. This rosé is as vibrant as it looks: bright and juicy, with notes of crushed rose petal, raspberry, strawberry, white cranberry, and candied cherry. Delish! Organically grown, biodynamically grown, low-intervention/natural wine, vegan.