Louis de Grenelle Saumur Rose

The Maison Louis de Grenelle has been around and family owned since 1859; that's unusual with other sparkling Saumur producers generally being owned by much larger firms these days. The family estate, La Durandière, is run by Grenelle CEO Françoise Flao. Her brother Antoine Bodet handles the estate vineyard, cultivating 100 acres of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Françoise oversees the winery work, including this fizzy but elegant rose bubbly. It's all Cabernet Franc with 12 months on the lees and then a smallish dosage (it ends up with .8% residual sugar). As somebody who makes a Cabernet Franc bubbly, I wish mine tasted this good.