Our 2009 baby is now bottled. Check out below who will be the next one
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year !
Ours finished where I had the most enjoyable time during 2010 : in Sicily. Actually, and this is a "scoop", I also made wine in Sicily last year. Not in August but in October as the Etna grapes take time to mature due to high elevation. While I was in Sicily last summer, I fell in love with the Etna wines and a local winemaker, Ciro Biondi, has offered to help me source some Nerello Mascalese from old vineyards. That's how Rosso-Azzurro was born. When we went there to celebrate New Years Eve, we also sampled and babysat our last new baby which is now aging in barrels.
Your servitor tasting Rosso-Azzuro
If 2010 was the birth of this new Etna wine, 2009 was the one of our Lunatique reserve, made from "Pure Grenache" planted "on the rocks". Like Rosso-Azzurro, this is a very small production and only 100 cases will be bottled. And this wine is now a reality as we bottled it last week. It needs some time to rest after the bottling and I will present it to our distributor when I come in the Spring for my traditional US visits.
Our very old Grenache planted "on the rocks". Quite a lunar soil, but the name Lunatique has more explanations... More about this in the next edition
The dates of my annual US "pilgrimage" are set (see picture and itinerary below) so if you plan to meet, please note your agenda. I will update this schedule when I get information about those events (tasting in wine shops, wine dinners) and you will be posted soon.
For the moment, here is the detail :
March 7th : New York City
Marth 8th : Washington DC
March 9th : Asheville NC
March 10th : Milwaukee
March 11th : Minneapolis - Saint Paul
March 12th : Iowa City
March 14th : Houston
March 15th : Los Angeles
March 16th : Bay Area
March 17th - 18th : Portland OR
March 19th : Seattle
Spring 2011 itinerary. Hoping to see you in one of those places
2010 rosé with screw caps
At last, I wanted to let you know that our rosé 2010 is bottled. The new thing is that we have decided to use screw caps as it is more ecological and, most of all, permits to keep all the freshness of the wine. Most of our importers are bringing it so you will be able to appreciate it when the first beautiful days come.
To finish with and to answer a few recent comments, even if this page is in English and even if we mostly sell our wines to the US, our wines are also available in Europe and in France ! We just started to work with 2 retail shops in Belgium and we can ship in France, in case you would like to try our wines.
Thanks for your support,
Cheers,
Jean-Marc
Domaine Rouge-Bleu
Lunatique is here! I cannot wait to taste it. Please, please, please make certain you tuck a few bottles away for the vendagers who aided in its inspiration. :)
Here's to a great start in the New Year.
All the best!
Posted by: Voie de Vie | January 17, 2011 at 08:56 PM
Love the name Lunatique! We hope to see you in Asheville.
Posted by: Margaret Dennis | January 19, 2011 at 05:09 PM
Looking forward to seeing you in NYC!
Posted by: Katie Dyer | January 19, 2011 at 05:34 PM
Oh, Jean-Marc, I am dying to sample this wine (as is Elena). Elena regaled me with stories of tasting the juice, which she swears is the best she has ever tasted, so I can't wait to try the finished product! We are trying to make arrangements to meet you in New York City for that tasting. Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Posted by: Caroline Scott | January 19, 2011 at 05:41 PM
Jean-Marc,
I am excited by all the projects you describe. The Etna project is especially intriguing and I look forward to the results. How long will you hold it in barrel before bottling and release? Is there sufficient quantity for export to US? Is it 100% Nerello Mascalese?
Also anticipating with pleasure the arrival of the Lunatique.
Hope to see you in March.
Posted by: Peter Lampen | January 19, 2011 at 06:33 PM
Great name - Lunatique! Conjurs up many interesting images of how great the wine will be. We hope to see you in Los Angeles this year.
Posted by: Debbie & Richard | January 19, 2011 at 07:18 PM
I wish you were making a stop in Boston, since we are the home of the Lunatiques des E-U's.
Posted by: Tim Averill | January 20, 2011 at 01:31 AM
I'm looking forward to the gathering in D.C. I hope to sample Lunatique even if there aren't enough bottles to buy one. Will the Rosso-Azzurro be ready?. Perhaps I can purchase some rose. I hope there will be a dinner, but in any case, meeting you again, along with other fans of your wine and the French-Word-A-Day, will be an enjoyable event, as it was last year.
Posted by: Marianne Rankin | January 20, 2011 at 01:47 AM
Thanks guys for the messages.
I will post soon the details of my trip and plan to have some Lunatique with me. It will take a little time for our importers to bring it. I am sure they will but the price kind of scares them...until, I think, they try it.
Sorry for Boston Tim... I have not found anybody interested in our wines (and I did offer to a couple guys). I can't go to a place where I have no distribution whenever I have no time to go to some places where we do have some distribution...
Thanks for your support, it really feels good.
Cheers,
Jean-Marc
Posted by: Jean-Marc Espinasse | January 20, 2011 at 07:21 AM
Ah, I will be out of town when you are in New York City in March. However, I will be in DC so I can see you at the tasting there. Can't wait to hear the details and taste Lunatique!
Posted by: Suzanne Dennis | January 20, 2011 at 06:56 PM
No Boston again this year? I was hoping it would work out, I guess I'll have to go to NYC. Love the name of the new wine...very creative. Bringing a group to France in May, but only to the Nice area...sorry to miss seeing you. Joyce, Westford Connect.
Posted by: Joyce Minosh | January 20, 2011 at 07:00 PM
Well, Jean-Marc, what is the price (here in Europe) of 'Lunatique'? After having tasted the wine from the barrique last summer, I really hope you keep some bottles for us coming to Domaine Rouge-Bleu.
Posted by: Jens from Copenhagen | January 20, 2011 at 08:10 PM
I agree with the post by Jens from Copenhagen, 'where is the Linatique' for the Europe folk, we are in the Charente any outlets s'il vous plait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Just love your site it's fab
Posted by: elizabeth | January 21, 2011 at 08:41 PM
Yay, you must have found a distributor in Seattle. Have you on our calendar and look forward to details.
Posted by: Linda Meier | January 23, 2011 at 09:15 PM