Domaine de Reuilly Pinot Gris Rose

Pairs with: Spicy Southeast Asian dishes (like Thai green curry or fresh Vietnamese summer rolls), grilled shrimp skewers with lime, a crisp strawberry-and-goat-cheese salad, or a simple platter of prosciutto and mild cheeses.

Good for: Shaking up your warm-weather wine routine, introducing your Provence-obsessed friends to a texturally fascinating "vin gris" style, or sipping lazily on the patio when you want something with more body than a basic white but all the refreshing snap of a great rosé.

Grape: 100% Pinot Gris (the pinkish-grey-skinned member of the Pinot family).

I am from: Reuilly AOC, Central Loire Valley, France.

The Story: While Pinot Gris (or Pinot Grigio) is usually celebrated as a white wine, the grape's skin actually ripens to a gorgeous, violet-pink hue. At Domaine de Reuilly, legendary proprietor Denis Jamain and winemaker Joseph de Maistre take brilliant advantage of this genetic quirk to craft their iconic, sunset-hued rosé. The estate’s history is deeply local, with vines tended on this property since the end of World War II, though the region's winemaking dates all the way back to 7th-century monks. Sitting atop a unique terroir of Kimmeridgian limestone and siliceous gravel, Denis transitioned the entire property to strict certified organic and biodynamic farming in 2011. To capture the grape’s natural charm, the hand-harvested fruit is given just a brief kiss of skin contact before a gentle press. It is then fermented and aged for five months on its fine lees entirely in stainless steel vats. The result is a magnificent cross-cultural style: it possesses the silky viscosity, stone fruit, and light spice notes reminiscent of an Alsatian Pinot Gris, backed by the razor-sharp, chalky minerality of a classic Loire Valley white.

Why You'll Love Me: It is bone-dry, beautifully textured, and wonderfully vibrant—a sophisticated alternative to mass-market rosés that swaps simple, sugary fruit flavors for savory alpine tension. In the glass, it pours a stunning, translucent pale amber-salmon color. The nose is an absolute aromatic playground, greeting you with a fragrant bouquet of fresh white peaches, crisp honeydew melon, and wild strawberries, seamlessly interwoven with white flower blossoms and a subtle whisper of white pepper. On the palate, it hits with a gorgeous surprise: a light-to-medium body with a satisfyingly unctuous, silky texture that coats the mouth. This plush mid-palate is immediately swept up by a laser beam of cool-climate acidity, sending waves of tart red currant and stone fruit dancing across the tongue before pulling into a long, beautifully focused finish defined by a steely, saline mineral snap.