Antech 2019 Emotion Rosé

PRODUCER INFO

• Limoux is the world’s original birthplace of sparkling wine, with the first bubbles produced here in the year 1544, some 150 years before Dom Perignon began making sparkling wine in Champagne.
• Only 24 wineries exist in Limoux and Antech (pronounced “An-tesh”) is by far the region’s most celebrated producer, known for the purity and elegance of the sparkling wines they produce.
• The estate was originally planted to 150 acres six generations ago, and 24 acres have been added over the years.  In addition to their estate grapes, for the last 90 years the family has purchased small amounts of fruit from several friends who have plots on the top of the mountain that sits north of them.  These high altitude conditions contribute added freshness to the finished wines.
• Both their Cremant and Blanquette bottlings are aged in bottle for over twice the legal minimum prior to release, and are markedly lower than most of their peers in terms of dosage.
• Strong women have been the driving force behind Antech for the last three generations of the winery and current winemaker Francoise Antech is one of France’s more vocal and gregarious female winemakers.

ABOUT THE WINE

• This is the winery’s best selling wine, and Francoise Antech calls it her “shu-shu” aka “little darling.”
• This wine always has zero dosage, and was originally inspired by the fine Rosé wines of Provence.
• Francoise “really has to fight” to get this pale pink/orange color with silver flecks (“Oeil de Pedrix”)

Vintage: 2019 | Wine Type: Sparkling Rosé
Varietal: 66% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin Blanc, 10% Mauzac, 4% Pinot Noir
Origin: France | Appellation: Limoux
Elaboration: Entirely handpicked in the morning, cooled and directly pressed and fermented separately in stainless steel. Pinot Noir macerated briefly to give light salmon color. Lot selection of wines, blending and second fermentation in bottle for 18 months in temperature controlled cellars.
Winemaker: Francoise Antech and her winemaking team

TASTING NOTES

With a delicate pink / salmon color, with brilliant highlights. On the nose it has nice flavors of red fruits and spring flowers. The mouth is fresh and fruity, with elegance and persistence. A glass of Emotion Rosé can serve as an excellent alternative to a pre-dinner cocktail, or is great with almost any seafood dish, including sushi, sashimi and Thai food.

TECHNICAL DATA

Production: 5,000 cases | Alcohol: 12% | TA: 5.0 g/l | Dosage: 8 g/l | pH: 3.07

PRESS & POINTS

2018 – 90 Points, Wine Enthusiast
2018 – 93 Points, Tastings.com