Clos Rougeard “Le Bourg” 2018Broad and resonant, this opens with dark plum skin, black cherry, and cassis bud, layered with cigar box, loamy earth, and a warm, iron tinged depth that immediately signals scale. The palate is expansive and slow moving, built around dense, savory fruit and polished but authoritative tannins, with acidity integrated rather than leading. Notes of leather, black tea, and damp soil unfurl gradually, carrying into a long, enveloping finish that feels

While all this is intellectually titillating

That’s the defining character of the Rabigato grape

Made entirely from Sangiovese but classified outside the rules of Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino

It would be perfect not only for boats but beaches

When sharecropping ended in Piedmont in 1965

edged by dried herbs

but I do want to make dynamic Chardonnay

confident hum

with a solid core of very ripe fruit

following through to a medium body with creamy tannins and a juicy finish

Hence this one being named “red earth”

fresh brioche