2020 Vincent Carême Fizzy Pink

WINEMAKER: Vincent Carême
REGION: Loire Valley, FR
VARIETAL: Cabernet Franc, Côt, Gamay, Grolleau Noir
VITICULTURE: Organic

The Fizzy Pink is a more simple, fun wine than the Ancestrale – perfect for spring picnics. Vincent normally only makes it for local consumption, from their cellar door or in the nearby city of Tours – it’s never been exported – but we convinced him to let us buy a little. It’s right up our alley for uncomplicated, easy drinking sparkling wines.

As the name implies it is a deep pink wine made from Côt (the local name for Malbec), Gamay de Bouze (a teinturier grape variety that has red juice), Cabernet Franc and Grolleau Noir. It has just 2.5 grams of residual sugar.

Vincent and Tania Careme inherited 5 hectares of vines in prime Vouvray terroir (just east of the city of Tours) from Vincent’s parents. They have since bought more vineyards and rented some as well to give a total of around 15 hectares which includes the superb Le Clos terroir. Their cave is very old. It is carved into the tuffeau cliffs just near the village of Vernou. Inside the cave there are some extraordinary sculptures carved by a friend called Olivier Masson.