Éric Texier Chat Fou
$34.00
4 in stock
Vintage: 2021
Region: Rhone Valley, France
Viticulture: Organic
Grape varieties: 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 20% Clairette
Éric Texier Chat Fou is a light body red perfect for chilling. Red berry aromas and flavors with hints of mint, spice, and mineral. 50% Grenache/30% Cinsault/20% Clairette. Some of the fruit is sourced but all is certified-organic, like the estate vines. Harvest is by hand. The bunches are partly de-stemmed and co-fermented with native yeasts in open-top concrete tanks with a short maceration (around 5 days)and no sulfur. No extraction techniques are applied to the wine, as is true for all Texier reds. Chat Fou is aged in concrete tank on its fine lees for around 12 months and bottled without fining or filtration and with a small amount of sulfur. Starting in 2021, the wine is bottled as a Vin de France rather than as a Côtes-du-Rhône.
Song: Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas
Additional information
| NATTINESS | Natty |
|---|---|
| FRUIT | Nectarine, Raspberry, Red Berries, Strawberry |
| BODY | Light-bodied |
| ACIDITY | Bright (Medium-High) |
| OAK | No Oak |
| TANNIN | Medium |
| ALCOHOL | 12-13% |
| SWEETNESS | Fruity & Dry |
| SERVING TEMP | Cool Red and Orange (58°–62°) |
| SULFUR | Low Sulfur (less than 50g/L) |
| VEGAN | Unknown |
| IMPORTER | Louis/Dressner Selections |
4 in stock
ABOUT THE PRODUCER
About Éric Texier Chat Fou
Éric Texier Chat Fou is a light body red perfect for chilling. Red berry aromas and flavors with hints of mint, spice, and mineral. 50% Grenache/30% Cinsault/20% Clairette. Some of the fruit is sourced but all is certified-organic, like the estate vines. Harvest is by hand. The bunches are partly de-stemmed and co-fermented with native yeasts in open-top concrete tanks with a short maceration (around 5 days)and no sulfur. No extraction techniques are applied to the wine, as is true for all Texier reds. Chat Fou is aged in concrete tank on its fine lees for around 12 months and bottled without fining or filtration and with a small amount of sulfur. Starting in 2021, the wine is bottled as a Vin de France rather than as a Côtes-du-Rhône.
About the Winemaker, Eric Texier
It is no exaggeration that Eric Texier is one of the most important people in Northern Rhone. He is not important in a boisterous or regal sense, but rather from an evolutionary perspective. Originally a Bordeaux native, Eric has lived in or around Lyon since 1979. Overall, he is a jovial, energetic, and fun-loving person. Eric just wants his wines to make their drinkers happy. He is also a boundary pusher. Eric questions his own work for the sake of moving viticulture forward.
Eric is a trailblazer, having put the all but extinct regions of Brézème and Saint Julien en Saint Alban on the map. He experiments with concepts you rarely if ever hear about elsewhere. Eric found acidity in Marsanne through amphoras. He is in favor of cover crops over plowing. There is a focus on “infusion” style macerations. Eric works his own grafts and is rediscovering forgotten grapes. He hopes these are adaptable to the very real threat of climate change.
Strongly opinionated, he is not afraid to ruffle feathers or call people out. Eric will yell bullsheeeeet in his heavily accented but perfect English. He always backs his claims with serious research, careful thought, and true care for the subject matter. You’d best think twice before writing him off. I mean, the guy used to be a nuclear engineer!
