A gastronomic rosé of Grenache Noir and Plant de Brunel – a hybrid grape variety from Saint-Remèze in southern Ardèche, a cross between Grenache and Jurançon. A beautifully rounded and highly expressive rosé filled with lots of warming fruits and a twang of rhubarb compote, all tied together with some lovely savoury, herbal notes.
Made with a blend of 60% Plant de Brunel and 40% Grenache Noir from clay limestone soils, the rosé is assembled with a mix of free-run and direct press juice and matured in stainless steel vat to retain freshness. The lesser known Plant de Brunel brings something entirely original to the wine – there’s a wonderful complexity here, a beautiful balance of herbs, ripe fruit, citrus and zingy acidity.
A good quote about Azzoni wines: "they're liquid food that I really can afford (there are so many wines that are out of reach for regular consumption), these SO2-free wines are probably of the type that have cheered the heart of humans and Dionysus since antiquity, when wine was judged more for its gentle intoxicating properties than for fitting a rigid framework of codified and controlled aromatics. Open a bottle and there is a good chance you'll finish it right away, even by yourself.”
Gilles still makes a small amount of wine but the bulk of the work has been taken over by his son Antonin. They now mostly buy grapes from nearby growers but have kept a small number of their own vines which Gilles bottles under his own label.