Eric Texier Chat Fou Rhone Vin de France Organic 2021 750ml

50% Grenache/30% Cinsault/20% Clairette. Mainly rom vines planted on a south-facing slope on granite soils in the warm St-Julien en St-Alban zone (in the Ardèche on the northern bank of the Ouvèze--to the west of the Rhône River, at the southern edge of the northern Rhône Valley). 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. 

Julie Sheppard writes: Made as a Vin de France, since officials deemed it too light in colour for Côtes du Rhône regulations, this organic blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Clairette is fresh and fruit-forward – and super value for money. Floral strawberry and cherry aromas lead to a generous palate of ripe red fruit, with fine tannins, lovely purity of fruit and plenty of freshness. One for fans of Beaujolais. - Decanter 90

Jancis Robinson writes: 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 20% Clairette, a ‘fair bit’ from old vines. We’re told it was considered by officials to be too light in colour to maintain its Côtes du Rhône status. So from the 2021, Eric Texier has made it as a Vin de France. Texier says he wants to make a wine like one you would find in Beaujolais – ‘something fresh that you can put in the fridge’. Certified organic.
Transparent garnet. Full of life! Easy to see the slightly anarchic element here. Wine-bar wine rather than serious salon wine but very well done. Jancis Robinson 16.5