Domaine de Rocheville turns 20 this year!
To symbolize this anniversary, we have created a new cuvée that sums up Rocheville’s spirit: organic, elegant, festive, and convivial!
We are pleased to introduce Magic, our rosé Pet Nat wine, 100% Cabernet Franc.
Sparkling wine by Rocheville : Bubbles from A to Z
For celebrating grand occasions or sharing convivial moments, bubbles hold a significant place in our hearts.
At Domaine de Rocheville, we celebrate the art of sparkling life’s moments with our sparkling wines. Our Crémant de Loire, La Favorite, has been delighting you since 2013. Today, a Pet Nat wine (natural sparkling wine) has enriched our wine range.
We are pleased to present our latest creation: Magic, a sparkling rosé wine.
Let’s delve into the world of traditional and ancestral methods to better understand how bubbles form in our sparkling wines.
What is Pet Nat ?
Magic is a Pet Nat wine, meaning it is a sparkling wine produced using the ancestral method.
With this method, natural alcoholic fermentation continues in the bottle. The result is a wine with delicate effervescence, with alcohol content generally lower than traditional sparkling wines. Pet Nat bubbles are lighter, and fruit aromas are often more pronounced.
In essence, Pet Nat wine embodies the very essence of natural and spontaneous wine, offering an authentic tasting experience full of character.
What is the Difference Between Champagne, Crémant de Loire, and Pet Nat Wine?
Traditional Method for Champagne and Crémant de Loire
A sparkling wine produced using the traditional method (or méthode champenoise) has been crafted in the same way as Champagne. However, outside of the Champagne region, one cannot naturally claim the Champagne AOC.
That’s why the sparkling wine produced at Domaine de Rocheville, in Maine et Loire, belongs to the Crémant de Loire AOC.
In summary, both wines are sparkling and produced in the same way. They are distinguished by their geographical origin, grape varietals, and taste characteristics.
What does the traditional method consist of?
It is primarily distinguished by bottle fermentation, known as “prise de mousse,” which creates carbon dioxide. This gas becomes trapped in the bottle, naturally forming the bubbles.
Here are the different steps that constitute the traditional method:
- Bottle Fermentation
- The basic wine is bottled with a liqueur composed of yeast and sugar, called tirage liqueur. This triggers a second fermentation in the bottle. The bottles are sealed with a metal capsule: the bidule.
- Prise de Mousse
- This second fermentation is also called “prise de mousse.” Carbon dioxide is created and remains trapped in the bottle, thus creating the bubbles.
- Aging (on lees)
Aging time on lees is essential to ensure the quality of the future cuvée. The longer the aging time, the more the bubbles have time to refine and the aromas to develop.
For a Crémant de Loire, the time on lees is a minimum of 12 months. For our Favorite, we can go up to 48 months!
- Riddling
After fermentation, dead yeast cells (lees) settle in the bottle. To remove them, the bottles are tilted and turned daily in a process called riddling.
Formerly, riddling was done on wooden desks. Today, we prefer the automatic system of gyropallets.
- Disgorging
Once the dead yeast cells are gathered in the neck of the bottle, the neck is plunged into a chilled solution. The small piece of yeast is thus frozen. Then, the capsule is removed, expelling the frozen deposit under pressure.
- Dosage
After disgorging, a small quantity of expedition liqueur (a blend of wine and possibly sugar) is added to adjust the sweetness level of the final crémant.
Thus, a Brut Crémant will contain little added sugar, while a natural or zero dosage champagne will contain none at all. The range of sugar levels in Champagne and Crémants varies from sweetest to driest: “doux,” “demi-sec,” “sec,” “extra sec,” “brut,” “extra brut,” and finally “brut nature” or “brut zero,” with minimal or no dosage.
Ancestral Method for Pet Nat Wine
A pet nat wine is a sparkling wine produced in an artisanal and natural way. Unlike Crémant and its traditional method, natural sparkling wines are crafted using the ancestral method, which is simpler and more primitive.
This ancestral method involves natural alcoholic fermentation of grape must in the bottle, without the addition of sugar or exogenous yeasts.
Indeed, the wine is bottled before alcoholic fermentation is fully completed. Fermentation finishes in the bottle, and the CO2 produced during the end of fermentation is captured.
This creates a less effervescent wine and lower alcohol content than traditional sparkling wines.
Unlike other sparkling wines, pet nat wine is also less sweet and less alcoholic. This results in a beverage with lighter bubbles and more pronounced fruit aromas.
So, does your heart lean towards the traditional method or the ancestral method? Here at Rocheville, it matters little as long as the bubbles make our taste buds sparkle with pleasure!
La Favorite VS Magic
Which grape variety for which sparkling wine?
The varietal of Crémant de Loire La Favorite
100% Chenin, this Crémant de Loire can be described as “Blanc de Blanc” because it is made only from white grapes.
Its fresh and elegant nose of white fruits (pear) and white flowers (honeysuckle, acacia) presents a beautiful persistence on the palate. It’s a very elegant cuvée!
The varietal of Magic Pet Nat wine
100% Cabernet Franc, this sparkling wine will seduce you with its indulgent notes of strawberry and English candy.
It’s a fresh and indulgent cuvée that will be your pleasure asset from the first rays of sunshine.
Food and wine Pairings: differences between Crémant and Pet Nat wine
What to Eat with Crémant de Loire La Favorite?
Elegant and unoaked, La Favorite is ideal for an aperitif or to accompany a seafood platter.
It also pairs perfectly with cheeses: Beaufort, Comté, Parmesan, Brie de Meaux…
What to eat with sparkling rose Magic?
Magic goes perfectly with desserts. It will work wonders with a rhubarb tart, a strawberry soup, a “vigneronne” tart (apple tart with red wine jelly), a red berry tiramisu…, but not only!
In the summer, French sparkling rosé wine happily accompanies burrata with fresh figs, melon with country ham…
In short, Pet Nat wine Magic is a lovely bottle for a gathering with friends or a picnic.
The aging potential of sparkling wines : La Favorite vs Magic
Once disgorged, a bottle of Crémant de Loire La Favorite should be consumed within 3 to 5 years.
As for Pet Nat Magic, its fruity and indulgent aromas are more fleeting, and it should be consumed in its youth. The rosé sparkling wine should be consumed within 2 years.
La Favorite and Magic are two complementary organic sparkling wines. Depending on the season and the occasion, both will find a special place on your table!
Parkling rose Magic by Rocheville: the story of a label
The creation of the Magic cuvée was an opportunity to innovate and highlight Rocheville’s artistic side. A place of exhibition since its opening, the estate welcomes several artists each year (paintings, photographs…).
During the summer of 2022, we had the pleasure of welcoming Marilyn MacGregor, a seasoned illustrator originally from Philadelphia but a “Saumuroise” at heart. The exhibition was titled “Saumur through the pencil of an American.”
Through her creations, Marilyn captures the city of Saumur and the landscapes of Anjou, Touraine, or Paris.
Her drawings celebrate the French way of life, history, and the cultural heritage of the Loire region. They emanate tenderness and optimism that seduced the entire Rocheville team. So, it was only natural to call on her talent to illustrate our sparkling rosé wine Magic.
The result? A real magic happens on the label. Wine enthusiasts are transported into a guinguette atmosphere by the Loire, under a starry sky: we are charmed!
More than just a Pet Nat wine, Rocheville’s sparkling rose offers you a Magic moment, full of conviviality and joy.
Discover Magic in our shop in Parnay (near Saumur, in the Loire Valley) or on our online store. Hurry, we’ve only produced 1400 bottles. There won’t be enough for everyone!