2013 Muscat de Rivesaltes

Mille Vignes has only seven and a half hectares (nineteen acres) of vines, by choice. “I could enlarge, but the wines wouldn’t be the same,” according to vigneronne Valérie Guérin. The terroir she works in this very southernmost part of France is an amalgam of clay, limestone, and schist soils; wild scrubland scented with thyme and lavender, and perhaps the most potent force of all, the fierce Tramontagne wind.
    Muscat de Rivesaltes, a local specialty, is a vin doux naturel produced when fermentation of very ripe Muscat grapes is halted midway by addition of a neutral spirit, a process known as mutage. Mille Vignes’ Muscat de Rivesaltes flaunts a ravishing perfume of infinite flowers and fruits, equally refreshing as an apéritif as it is satisfying with dessert. –Anthony Lynch

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Vintage 2013
• Bottle Size 500mL
• Blend Muscat à petit grains
• Appellation Vin de Pay de l’Aude
• Country France
• Region Languedoc-Roussillon
• Vineyard 30 - 40 years
• Soil Limestone, Schist
• Winemaker Jacques Guérin, Valérie Guérin
• Farming Organic
• Alcohol 16%