Best Beverage welcomed several new French wines to the Rhode Island market for the new year from Bon Vivant Imports. Famille de Boel France is a small family estate owned and run by a husband-and-wife team in the high elevations of Saint Joseph. Using biodynamic farming and winemaking from its vineyards in the Northern Rhône, as well as from land in the Southern Rhône, the duo offers Le Gras C’est La Vie, a blend of Carignan, Grenache and Caladoc, as well as Les Voraces, a pure expression of Syrah from the Northern Rhône in the Collines Rhodaniennes IGP, where only stainless steel is used for fermentation, and a short aging to give as much varietal character as possible. Vila Voltaire, a small, personal passion project of winemaking rock star Stéphane Yerle, offers Puech Auriol Rouge 2019, a 100% Carignan from Saint-Chinian, and Je Suis Tombé Par Terre, a red blend of Carignan, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
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- Famille de Boel France’s Le Gras C’est La Vie red blend offers freshness and vivacity for extraordinary value. The Rhône Valley red is a hand-harvested blend of Carignan, Grenache and Caladoc, a cross between Malbec and Grenache, with a bright and brambly nose leading to a palate of red and black fruits full of spicy texture and meaty grip.
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- Les Voraces Collines Rhodaniennes IGP offers notes of peppery spice, blackberry, boysenberry and a touch of cured meat. On the palate the wine is fresh, but has deep complexity, showing dark berry fruit, spice, licorice and great minerality.
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- Vila Voltaire Puech Auriol Rouge 2019 comes from a 70-year-old bush vine Carignan vineyard in the Saint-Chinian region of Languedoc. Lively licorice, black pepper, clove and garrigue aromatics lead to a very balanced palate that accentuates the savory nose with dark juicy fruit and lovely acidity, silky tannins and a depth of structure.
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- Vila Voltaire Je Suis Tombé Par Terre showcases grapes and terroir from Languedoc. Old bush-vine Carignan and Grenache come together with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot on sandy limestone soils, and naturally ferment separately in small, stainless steel tanks before aging one year in 300-liter used French oak.
