Sulauze® Sulauze aix en Provence Rose Pomponette – 1778570199084

Karina and Guillaume Lefevre are two of the loveliest and warm-spirited people you would ever  encounter. They met hiking across the island of Corsica and it was Coup de Foudre, “love at first sight.” Karina had travelled to France from her native country of Brasil, but after meeting Marseille-born Guillaume, she made a home with him in Southern France. Their family has grown to four with the addition of their son and daughter. 

The French Government established a farm sibsidization program to encourage young people to return to the land and cultivate crops. Like in so many countries, there is a mass exodus to the cities and rural France is struggling to maintain its agricultural traditions. With help from the government and a small amount of savings, Guillaume and Karina purchased Domaine de Sulause in 2004, which was comprised of 29 hectares of vineyards, a few stone buildings and a stone barn where a wine cooperative once operated. Together they began coverting the entire estate to first organic and then biodynamic viticulture and polyculturual farming, which includes wheat fields (for bread), barley (for beer), olive trees (for olive oil) and an extensive vegetable garden to feed their family and employees. Today the entire domaine is demeter certified and a good portion is worked by animal traction.

Karina and Guillaume grow the classic red and white varieties of the Coteaux d’Aix en Provence appellation including Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Calladoc, Cinsault, Marselan, Rolle, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, and Ugni Blanc, all planted in sandy, limestone-centric soils with many shells. In fact, the domaine takes it’s name Sulauze from a soil-type known as Lauze, which is a flaky limestone with excellent drainage that protects vines from temperature variations. Su, or sous, which means “on” or “above” in French, combined with “lauze” translates to “on lauze”. 

The family’s annual production of 15,000 cases is comprised of 50% red wine, 40% rosé, and 10% white wine. They are intent on authentically expressing theior terroirs and thus, adhere to traditional vinification methods and intervene as little as possible in the cellar. All wines are fermented with their native yeasts, little or no sulfur is used (and only volcanic sulfur at that), and no fining or filtration is done. Guillaume is leader in the region’s natural wine movement, and he is constantly experimenting so the cellar is dotted with barrels of skin-macerated wines, zero sulfur foudres, and more! That said, purity and deliciousness are the main objectives so dogma and dirty wines don’t have a place at Domaine de Sulauze. 

TastingNotesThis provencal rose is classic pale pink/salmon in color with aromatics that are bright and clear. The Rolle(Vermentino) give a raciness that keeps you coming back for more