Champagne Fleur de Miraval Rosé NV
Fleur de Miraval is a fusion of the skills and expertise of three families. This impressive triumvirate includes the Jolie-Pitts of Miraval, the Perrins of Beaucastel fame and the renowned Champagne grower and producer Rodolphe Péters of Pierre Péters. Friends Marc Perrin and Rodolphe Péters wanted to create a Champagne that combined the complexity of Chardonnay and the vibrancy of a young Pinot Noir. Having struggled to find what they were looking for in a rosé Champagne, in 2015 “we created the wine we couldn’t buy" says Marc. ‘Fleur de Miraval’ has its cellars in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and is the only Champagne house to produce solely Rosé Champagne. This non-vintage Champagne is a blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, all sourced from the Côte des Blancs. The Chardonnay comes from the great villages across the Côte des Blancs, from Cramant to Mesnil. The vines are 30 years old on average and are planted on chalk soils, which adds finesse, complexity and structure to the champagne. Rodolphe expressly sought out quality Pinot Noir from younger vineyards planted in the village of Vertus, in order to add tension, vivacity and freshness, as well as colour to the final blend, which was managed by using the saignée method. For the Chardonnay, 25% of the blend comes from the 2016 harvest from Le Mesnil and other villages in the Côte des Blancs, adding citrus zest and freshness. For added complexity, 25% of the blend was from Rodolphe’s ‘perpetual reserve’ system (which has wines dating back to 2007). The remaining 25% of the base wine is made up of seven year old Blanc de Blancs purchased ‘sur latte’. This process, known as ‘remise en cercle’, involves uncorking the Blanc de Blancs and emptying all the bottles into a tank where the wine is then de-gassed and added to the base wine. While extremely expensive, this process brings texture, complexity and richness to the blend. After blending, the base wines were bottled and aged on lees for three years. The champagne was disgorged in June 2020, and was bottled with a dosage of 4.5g/l. As Champagne is particularly sensitive to ‘light strike’, the damage caused by the wine being exposed to ultraviolet rays, each Fleur de Miraval bottle is lacquered so the wine is protected and retains its delicate perfumes. On the nose, ‘Fleur de Miraval’ opens with delicate aromas of acacia, blood orange, pink grapefruit and subtle notes of sweet pastries. On the palate it is poised, with bright acidity giving great tension to the wine. The elegant flavours of almond and candied orange peel are well balanced with a saline freshness and a fine, delicate mousse.
