Coteaux Champenois Confiance Franck Pascal 2014/15

Coteaux Champenois Confiance Franck Pascal, 100% Pinot Meunier, Rare Red wine from Champagne, Strawberries, Cranberry, Pomegranate & Bramble. Loose minerals and gentle tannins. Red wine from the Champagne region is pretty rare stuff, particularly from the north where the climate has always been right on the edge for getting red grapes fully ripe. But Pinot Noir likes cool climates as it maintains its acidity and nervousness and yields a vibrant, fresh, tense style of red. The most famous reds of the region are probably from the aptly name village of 'Bouzy', called Bouzy Rouge and made from Pinot Noir 100%, another is from the village of Cumiere. Frank Pascal's Coteaux Rouge Champenois is a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and a rare delight from this region. It is made with no added sulphites and can age very well, the current 2014 is superb and still a baby, slightly sour on the finish, a function of it cool climate origins, with lip smacking acidity yet velvety fruit and texture, simply lovely, my kind of Pinot.

Franck Pascal started out as an engineer but the sad death of his brother and his spell in military service led to his taking over the family vines and a direction towards not just organic production but a fully integrated, holistic approach to vineyard management and wine production. 'After military service taught me all about the horrors of biological warfare and its effects on humans, I wanted to learn better methods of working with nature rather than using pesticides and herbicides for vines.' In everything he does, Franck goes a stage further. He developed his own natural compost after intense analysis of his soils and the small 7 hectare farm in Baslieux-sous-Châtillon is mostly ploughed using horses. Franck has also become a highly skilled wine maker and transforms his superb quality fruit into wine of great elegance and subtlety.