No wine says “spring” quite like a fresh French rosé. In the wine trade, it’s a yearly scramble for the newest bottlings just off the boat, juicy and primary, ready to pair with the verdant foods of the season—asparagus, morels, ramps, etc. There’s plenty of pleasure in these pairings, but true aficionados know that rosé is meant for more than one season, and, when made with care and intention, keeps getting better with age.

You may know of the most extreme example in this category—Rioja’s López de Heredia—whose barrel-aged rosé is a delicious outlier. Bandol has its devotees, too, but somehow Pinot Noir rosés have managed to remain relatively unsung (and undervalued), despite their propensity for development and evolution. A few Burgundian houses have begun to make the case for aging their rosés, as have other Sancerrois, but they generally aren’t anywhere near as reasonable as the wine in today’s offer—our first from Pierre Riffault, but surely not our last! Riffault’s 2019 rosé is complex, generous, and finely detailed, showcasing excellent terroir and vivid varietal character, all on a structured, mineral foundation. There wasn't much left of the initial 500-case production so we took all we could of this $30 stunner! 

Domaine Pierre Riffault is a relatively new estate in Verdigny, having been founded by its namesake in the 1980s. The family, though, comes from a long line of farmers in the area, as their extensive collection of antique clay Crottin de Chavignol chèvre molds can attest. Bertrand Riffault took over from his father in 2005, and he is showing a studied hand in both the vineyard and the cellar. For the rosé, Bertrand works steep-sloped plots of mature Pinot Noir thriving in Sancerre’s storied limestone caillottes; the wine comes from a minuscule 1.5-hectare vineyard whose ruggedness is reflected in the cuvée name, “Les 7 Hommes,” a local denotation of a parcel of land, requiring seven men to plow it in a day. At harvest, these grapes are gently pressed after a manual sorting into stainless steel tanks, where they undergo a long, cool fermentation. In 2019, lowered yields lead to a particularly good vintage for red grapes, with excellent ripening while retaining their acids—perfect conditions for complexity and longevity! 

Riffault’s wines offer real class, delicacy, and sincerity, all at an unbelievable price. Their generous nature belies the hard work and mastery in the cellar, effortlessly offering classic aromatics of citrus, tart berries, stone fruit, and minerals. There’s an ethereal harmony on the palate as well, with the red fruits, spice, and stoniness meshing with the electric core of acidity; a lush, concentrated texture; and a long, aromatic finish. With some bottle age now, the edges may have softened, fruits dried and brûléed a degree, but the spine remains ramrod-straight and eager for food. Serve cool and pour into all-purpose stems, to match with a wide variety of dishes. Goat cheeses and spring vegetables, of course, but any Pinot-friendly dishes will sing, like the attached recipe from Eric Ripert. This is how you kick off rosé season in the highest possible style. Enjoy!