Thursday, November 11, 2010

Precious Hidden Gem: Rose des Riceys Part-1


I first discovered Rose des Riceys somewhere in my out of print Champagne book collection about 3 years ago. Because I knew nothing about it, I opened the Oxford Companion. 10-line short entry read,  “Rare, still, pink wine made in the commune of Ricey’s in the Aube department, the southern end of the Champagne region…. It can be one of France’s most serious roses”


The words “rare” and “serious” caught my attention and since then I have been on a mission to find and taste this wine. Every time when I see a wine shop, I went in looking for the bottle. I asked countless people in the industry, including people who have lived in France as well as people who were studying for Masters of Wine to see if they have tasted this mythical rose, or at least give me some kind of clue about it. But only the answer I was getting was “NO”
 
Rose des Riceys is a still rose made by saignee method using Pinot Noir grapes, grown on the steepest slopes with the best aspect and exposure in the Riceys. The appellation consists of 3 villages of Ricey-Haut, Ricey-Haut-Rive and Ricey-Bas and there are only about 20 producers. One of the reasons why it is so hard to find (even in Paris) is that the total production, which bears appellation Rose des Riceys is about 70,000 bottles a year, only if the vintage is exceptional. When the vintage is not up to the standard, those Pinot Noir grapes are destined to the production of Champagne.


One of the legendary fans of this wine was King Louis XIV. During the construction of the Versailles, the King saw the workers enjoying this wine and tasted it and got hooked on. If the King, who had access to all the wonderful wines and liked this one, it must have been very good. Another reason why I became so intrigued by this wine is its unique attribute of ageing capability. Unlike rose wines in general, which are recommended for immediate consumption with a slogan “the fresher the better”, Rose des Riceys can age up to 20 years according to some producers.


A break in the case came last July while I was in hot and humid Tokyo. As I was making a routine stop at my favorite wine store, which specializes in French wines especially Burgundy and small production grower Champagne. I found my Champagne Expert, Mr. Hirama the day I walked in. Despite his young age, Mr. Hirama has amazing wine knowledge and I always look forward to seeing him when I am in Tokyo. Besides working at the store, he also goes to France for buying trips and since he was telling me he just came back from Champagne, I thought he may have some lead and I asked the question. “Have you ever seen or tasted Rose des Riceys?” He looked at me as if I was asking him a name of his Math teacher from high school and said, “Yes. It’s tart…” I held my breath and waited for the next word. Nothing. I looked at him harder with my widened eyes wishing another word to follow. He opened his mouth and said, “It’s tart.”


The mystery bottle I spent 3 years looking for was described in one short word of “tart”. However I was still determined to taste it for myself to see if it is still just “tart”. When I was getting ready for the harvest work in September, on the top of things to do list in Champagne, I wrote: To find a bottle of Rose des Riceys.

To be continued…