Renardat-Fache Bugey Cerdon Initiale

Description

96% Gamay/4% Poulsard. in 2021 we are seeing the first release of this new non-vintage wine from Renardat. It is made identically to their classic Cerdon. The certified-organic fruit is picked by hand, pressed and fermented in cold vats until it reaches about 6% alcohol. After a light filtration that leaves most of the active yeast in the unfinished wine, it is bottled and continues its fermentation, finishing at about 8% alcohol with some residual sugar (51 grams in this new current release, less than historically remaining in the classic vintage Cerdon). The wine is disgorged before release.

A note on changes to the winemaking program at Renardat: this wine, “Initiale”, was created so that the domaine has a year-round, fresh, bright Cerdon in good supply and of consistent character. It will become about 2/3 of the domaine’s production. in the classic vintage Cerdon blend, which will still be made and released once a year, there will a higher proportion of Poulsard, given the pulling of some Gamay for the Initiale bottling, which will refine its nature a bit; it will be about 1/3 of the production. Both Cerdon wines are being finished with less sweetness than the one classic wine ever was–though with no lack of residual sugar to be sure, as it’s required by the AOC and key to the wine’s very nature–and the Initiale will generally have more RS than the vintage Cerdon going forward.